


Mystic Knight Online: Worlds to Sow

by JGKitarel



Series: Mystic Knight Online [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Sword Art Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2019-07-18 11:51:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16117853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JGKitarel/pseuds/JGKitarel
Summary: The World Seed is a tool created by Kayaba to ensure that Virtual Reality would remain a part of people's lives and Steel Phoenix has been "gifted" with the responsibility of determining what should be done with it. And others would certainly be interested in this development.





	1. Preparing the Land

Mystic Knight Online: Worlds to Sow

Chapter 1: Preparing the Land

**April 2, 2025 - Nishitokyo, SAO Survivor’s School**

“Thank _God_ , that’s over,” Harry said in relief as he and the others left the school’s main building, his green eyes seeming to have slightly dulled from the exhaustion he felt. “That was worse than if I took all my end of year tests at the same time back in England.”

Keiko clenched and unclenched her hands as she tiredly nodded.

“ _Chert poberi,_ and I thought my High School entrance exams were bad,” Nijika groaned out as she idly fingered her loose braid. “I wanna go back to SAO. At least the mobs would be direct in their trying to kill me instead of this.”

“I thought I was ready for them,” Asuna muttered, “But I was not ready. Now can one of you get that spike that was driven into my brain out?”

“Why?” Nijika asked.

“So I can stab the sadists who designed those tests,” Asuna replied.

“Hey now, just because those tests gave it to us sideways is no reason to be contemplating homicide,” Harry said.

“Maiming, on the other hand, is acceptable,” Keiko added darkly.

“I can’t feel my hands and I think I smell my brain cooking,” Hiyori whimpered.

Kazuto remained silent, but the slump of his shoulders showed that he was exhausted by the entire thing. Then again, neither he, nor the others, were alone in that. Harry had seen the exhausted looks among other fellow survivors, so he knew that the tests were grueling to not only him or his friends.

Surprisingly enough, their uniforms didn’t look overly rumpled, despite how they felt. Not that they cared about that little detail.

They had been busy with tests for six hours with only a few breaks to take care of necessities, with an hour break for lunch. They had all been divided into separate groups based on what their grade level should be, which Harry considered a wise move by the test proctors. Everyone who had been in a known group had been further divided up, or arranged in seats where they couldn’t discuss things with their former comrades if that wasn’t possible or practical.

All to prevent cheating or collaboration, of course. Not that any of their group would have felt the need to cheat. They took the tests, did as well as they could, though Harry knew he had completely bombed the test on Kanji and felt that his test on his general comprehension of Japanese was only so-so. He felt that he did fairly well on the mathematics and science portions of the tests, though.

As for the English test, the comprehension part was laughably easy for him, with the grammar one being only slightly more difficult. He was used to the critical evaluation of Minerva McGonagall, and Snape was a bloody Nazi when it game to grammar, using that as an excuse to mark down papers.

Well, he would find out when they came back next Friday to not only start the academic year, but to find out how they did and where they stood academically. Well, outside of being well behind their age groups, that is.

“So, should we walk to the station, or do you guys want to take the bus there?” Rain asked.

“As tempting as taking the bus would be, we’ll probably get to the station faster if we walked,” Asuna said. “It’s close enough.”

“And we’ll be splitting up soon enough as it is,” Harry noted. “Meet up at the Swords Rest in Yggdrasil City at around eight?”

“Actually, I think we should all just take the Seibu-Ikebukuro Line to Nerima Station and head to Furinkan,” Kazuto disagreed. “We still have to discuss a few things that none of us want prying ears to hear. Does anyone have an issue with this?”

**Nerima, Saotome-Tendo Dojo**

Akane heard the front door slide open, as well as Keiko’s announcing her entrance and briefly wondered why her granddaughter was here. A quick use of her Ki sensing showed that Keiko wasn’t alone, and she felt the wariness of the others noticeably increase. No matter, she recognized who was now here. Keiko had brought her friends by for some reason.

_And it’s interesting that they could sense my use of Ki when I was identifying them from the kitchen_ , she thought as she left the kitchen and walked into the living room to see them all in the genkan. _It means that their awareness of their surroundings has more of a component of Ki sensitivity than we realized. A real world equivalent to what they called... what was it again? System Awareness?_ They had all paused what they were doing, taking their shoes off and had gotten into a guarded formation that covered all angles until they realized it was her and relaxed.

All of them except Keiko.

“Guys, it’s grandma,” Keiko said with some amusement. “But… how did you sense her? I mean, I know we’re all more aware of everything, but there are limits.”

“I felt something,” Harry said. “As if someone had focused their attention on us, but I didn’t know what, or who for that matter, it was.”

The others simply nodded.

“I think I know,” Akane said. “We all wondered just how much came back with you from SAO. The awareness of your surroundings made sense, given your experiences, but your reactions make me believe that something else might be in play. And if I’m right, then you _all_ need training, if only for your own sakes.” She focused some of her Ki, keeping it just under the surface.

Her granddaughter’s fiancé had immediately focused on her. The other boy, Kazuto, had as well. As did the girl she recalled was named Asuna. The other two did so after a moment, but they had quickly scanned their surroundings first.

“Grandma…” Keiko said.

“So that’s how your… I think you called it System Awareness, works in the real world,” Akane said as she released her Ki, causing them all to relax. “Keiko knows what I did. Keiko, if you would explain?”

Keiko glanced at the others and took a breath. “What she did was focus her Ki,” she said. Holding up a hand to forestall any exclamations of disbelief, she continued. “I know, it sounds a bit out there, but keep in mind one thing before you say it’s impossible or that Ki isn’t real that you all know that magic is real. I don’t know if you’ve been shown it out here in the real world, though.”

“When we got debriefed, one of them showed us a few things,” Asuna said. “Including transforming something into something else in a way that was clearly not any kind of stage trick in case we had any doubts.” She shook her head. “You really can’t debate the existence of magic when someone waves a magic wand and violates the Law of Conservation of Mass by turning a chair into a teacup right in front of your eyes.”

The others nodded, while Harry looked amused. "Actually, if you were to scan or touch the teacup, it would come across as hot." He shrugged at their looks. "What, half the teaching staff at my old school weren't just masters, they were overachievers. While I don’t know if any of them have science degrees, they do have a basic understanding of science.”

“That’s what you meant when you said that magic and science aren’t really in conflict,” Keiko said.

"... Actually, from what K-blade here has said—"

"Kay Bladu?" Said black swordsman muttered.

"—it's rather like programming. I have access to certain things you don't, yes. But until I learn the language to nudge reality with, I'm at the same... user level as everyone else."

Kazuto chuckled. “In other words, you’re at the level of basically using magic to do a “Hello World” program,” he said.

“If that means that I’m still at the point where I’m learning the most basic elements of it, then yes,” Harry said. "The leader of my school book club? He'd be like you are with computers, I think. A hacker. And I think Old Tommy would be a, what did you call the type of hackers who did it for criminal purposes or to simply cause harm?”

“A Black Hat,” Kirito said.

“Yes, that,” Harry said. “And appropriate, given that he called himself a Dark Lord, not that he’s calling himself anything these days. And the reason magic and science aren’t in conflict is due to them being different philosophies, dear. I remember telling you that once.” He shook his head. “Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Ki, my dear. Explain.”

“Short answer, it’s the energy that all living things produce,” Keiko said. “Long answer, it’s a bioelectric field that all living things produce which can be sensed by other living organisms to some degree on an instinctive level. Our SA, that’s System Awareness, grandma, was a close equivalent to it when we were all jaunting around Aincrad. I guess that our SA heightened our ability to sense it.”

“But it’s still untrained,” Akane said. “And if you can sense and pinpoint me when I’m actively channeling Ki… that means that you can probably use it, if only unconsciously, to some degree.”

“I take it that’s not a good thing,” Nijika surmised.

“It isn’t,” Akane said with some authority. “Trust me, I know that from experience.”

“I’ve heard some stories,” Harry said as Keiko nodded. “Something about you being the textbook definition of… well, when you got mad, _you got mad_. A berserker in other words.”

“And not the kind who could control it when she got that way,” Akane said. “If Ranma wasn’t as tough as he is, I could have seriously hurt him on more than one occasion. It wasn’t helped by other factors, but…” She shrugged. “My use of Ki was uncontrolled and unfocused by anything _but_ anger. I don’t know how it would be with you all, but it’s better to head any potential issues off."

Asuna nodded. “I would like to say that we’re all good at controlling ourselves,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that someone or something wouldn’t trip our instincts at the wrong time and be considered a threat before we realized it and stopped ourselves.” She grimaced. “With how we dealt with threats, that would only confirm what far too many people already suspect of us. Has Grandmaster Saotome planned on how he will approach our families?” She looked around. “Where is he, if I may ask?”

“In the dojo with Akira and Ko,” Akane said. “And with you all here, and this… we all need to talk.”

Asuna nodded. “That actually works,” she said. “Not just about this, though I wonder how you will pitch it to our families, but because there is something we need to discuss and it’s better to discuss it here in the Furinkan District anyway. I think having some outside perspectives on something would be beneficial to us.”

“Magic related or AI related?” Akane asked.

Everyone but Keiko and Harry gave a startled twitch, which caused Akane to chuckle. “We set up a hard line feed to Keiko’s Nerve Gear,” she said. “While we weren’t as… constant in watching her as what those watching Mister Potter were, we do know about what Strea and Yui really are.”

Asuna shot a look at the two. “And you didn’t think to inform us about this?” She asked them archly before shaking her head. “Never mind, I really shouldn’t be surprised.” She looked at Akane. “It’s the latter, Master Saotome, and we should probably take this to the dojo.”

Akane nodded. “Well then, let’s go.”

##

Ranma held up a hand. “Time!” He called out to his sons. Akira and Ko stopped their spar with the speed that long habit provided them and they backed away and bowed. As soon as they straightened, they turned and then bowed to him. It was a ritual that had been instilled into his branch of the Anything Goes School from the beginning, always show your opponent the proper respect first, then the teacher. He wasn’t going to play the “I am a Master game” and have the deference only shown to the teachers.

One always showed respect to an opponent, even if, or especially if, you had none for them. No need to further cause further insult, after all. He felt Akane’s Ki stretch out and wondered why she was, but a quick use of his own senses saw why. Keiko had come by unexpectedly, and she had guests with her.

His Ki was practically woven into the place, so he had no need to stretch. He sensed new people in his house as easily as he might hear them enter. Of course, there were limits. If he was out of sorts, such as the initial months after Keiko ended up in SAO, then he could easily miss someone. Even one with Ki as powerful as Ryoga had.

And knowing someone was present wasn’t the same as knowing why anyway. Not unless they were giving off hostile intent.

And as he hadn’t spoken up after calling the match over, both of his sons stretched their Ki out. An exercise of theirs, really. Stretch out the senses, feel the environment, and then pull it all back in. They may have reached the point where it wasn’t an exercise in control for them, but twenty years under his tutelage had brought about habits that were hard to break.

And he felt the spike of wary alertness from his granddaughter and her companions. An alertness which quickly settled.

_Interesting,_ he thought. _They sensed both Akira and Ko stretching out their Ki, as they apparently did for Akane earlier. It’s just as I thought._ He had wondered just how some of their abilities in SAO translated out here in the real world. Their mention of System Awareness, the ability to have a feel for a digital world’s rhythms and what was going on around them there, did seem to translate to the real world.

And now he knew why it did, even if he didn’t know the precise mechanics of the how. Well, he knew _one_ of the mechanics; their survival instincts were still in a heightened state, even after nearly four months being free from SAO.

_Not that it didn’t take me years to calm my own instincts,_ he thought to himself.

He turned to the dojo’s entrance and watched his wife escort Keiko and her friends in. He also felt a twinge of amusement as Harry shot both Akira and Ko wary, and also slightly irritated, looks. Their tendency to douse him with the Instant Jusenkyo water, gussy him up and then take pictures in the hopes of embarrassing him had been done enough times to start getting stale.

“Oh good, we’re not interrupting anything,” Akane said as Keiko and her friends bowed to the _shomen_.

“We had just finished up,” Ranma replied. “And I noticed that they picked up on Akira and Ko extending their Ki out.”

“Wait, they did?” Akira asked. “I mean I noticed that something made them cautious, but it was them picking up Ko and I doing our habitual exercise after a spar if dad isn’t having us do something else?”

“I wondered how they often noticed the girls,” Ko said with a nod. “Keiko likes to take pictures with her phone of the girls when she spots them.” He said to Akira. “I always thought it was simply her, and probably Harry as well, simply picking them out because they’re still working on blending in.”

“Actually, Uncle Ko, that’s how we often noticed them,” Keiko said. “We’re good at picking out anything or anyone that stands out to us. That we might have been sensing their Ki didn’t really dawn on me until today, when Grandma used it since I came by unexpectedly.”

Ko nodded. “And with you being in your school uniform, despite it not starting until next week… exams?”

Keiko nodded.

“How did they go?”

“I’ll let you know after my brain stops trying to dribble out of my ears and I get feeling back into my hands,” Keiko replied.

“Yours is only trying to dribble out?” Harry asked drily. “I’m pretty sure mine was well on its way to being pureed by the time we hit the Japanese language portions. After the kanji one… yeah, it was more soup than grey matter.”

“Kanji gave you trouble?” Akira asked with a mocking tone. “With how well you speak Japanese, I would have thought you would have had an easier time.”

“And how much trouble did you have learning English?” Ko asked slyly.

“That’s different, Ko,” Akira argued. “And I doubt he had someone like Ninomiya-sensei teaching it to him.”

“You’re only saying that due to how she handled you falling asleep in class,” Ko shot back.

Ranma quieted both sons with a look. He turned back to his granddaughter and her friends. “I would have thought all of you would have headed home, maybe to go online and hang out there,” he said. “So, what brings you all here?”

“Grandmaster Saotome, if I may?” Asuna asked.

Ranma nodded.

“Thank you,” Asuna said. “That pretty much was the intent, but Kazuto reminded us that we have something we needed to discuss that required a certain degree of privacy that we wouldn’t have gotten inside ALO.”

“So why here?” Ranma asked.

“Coming here was Keiko’s idea,” Asuna replied. “And with how your wife managed to determine that the reason was either magic related or AI related, you all clearly know that Strea and Yui aren’t human.”

Ranma nodded. “We do,” he said. “And you need to discuss something related to them?”

“Not them,” Asuna said. “There is another AI. We only met her for the first time last week, but we’ve known about her since we took in Yui and Strea.” She paused for a moment. “She was the same AI who was responsible for SAO’s running and goes by the name CARDINAL. She went into ALO like Yui and Strea did, but… she was finishing something that Kayaba started in SAO.”

Ranma’s eyes narrowed and he shoved down the flash of anger that the name of the man who trapped his granddaughter in SAO brought forward. There was no point in holding any to a man who has been dead for months. “You have my attention,” he said.

“She finished it but she wants us to be the ones to decide what should be done with it,” Asuna explained. “Ki- Kazuto, if you would, as I know you are considering taking her up on this.”

Kazuto blinked as Ranma directed his attention to him. “Um, right,” he said hesitantly before taking a deep breath. “First, I’ll like to summarize why I am considering taking CARDINAL up on what Kayaba was doing as a side project in SAO that CARDINAL finished and dropped into our laps. Is that all right?”

“It would give us some context, as Miss Yuuki has mentioned that you, at least, are seriously considering going forward with it,” Ranma answered drily.

“Right,” Kazuto said with a nod. “With how much money and work went into making SAO what it was, there is no way any corporation would sink the time and costs to develop anything like it on their own just to make it their own. Not without government backing, which even Kayaba needed. ALO uses the same engine as SAO since they took it from the beta servers, which is why it took them less than a year to make it, rather than five years and over a trillion yen.”  
  
Ranma nodded.

“What Kayaba was working on, was something that would streamline the VR development process,” Kazuto continued. “CARDINAL pitched it as a way for people to create worlds and be the heroes of their own stories, which was one of Kayaba’s stated reasons to us for what he did. I doubt what he told us was the extent of them but it does work as an explanation for the ‘why’.”

“You suspect more?” Akira asked.

“Uncle, we all suspect that he had other reasons,” Keiko said. “Harry told him up front right before the confrontation where we killed him that what he did and the way he did it was completely unnecessary. We just don’t have an idea of _what_ those other reasons are. If there were any.” She looked at Kazuto. “Kazuto, if you would continue?”

Kazuto nodded. “What she gave us was something that is the core for the entire system that makes SAO and ALO, stripped down to the essentials needed to make such a system work,” he said. “A full on development kit. It won’t have the same capabilities that SAO had and ALO has, but what CARDINAL implied basically means that VR games of similar caliber can be more easily made.” He took another breath. “Knowing Kayaba, he would have taken how SAO has slowed the development of such to a crawl and intended to make this open source. But CARDINAL gave us the choice of what to do with it. We can send it out… or we can delete it, and she wouldn’t stop us. I know what she would prefer us to do, but she is leaving the decision to us.”

“Why you all?” Ranma asked.

“Because we have reasons to either accept it or refuse it,” Kazuto replied. “For me, accepting it would allow me to create something for Strea and Yui so that they can move their primary data somewhere else and not risk what happened when we hit that glitched quest. It was… bad for them and they _are_ members of Steel Phoenix. We take care of our own.”

“That’s as good a reason as any to accept it,” Hiyori said. “Strea and Yui are our friends. Family really.”

“And it would be nice to have a place to meet up that we can call our own,” Nijika added. She then gave Harry and Keiko a sly look. “And those two… well, it would allow them to be a proper married couple again.”

Both Harry and Keiko blushed and shot her flat looks, but didn’t say anything to counter it. Whether it was because they were unlikely to be believed and they knew it, or that was their intent were both equally valid possibilities in Ranma’s mind. Besides, he heard the teasing note in her voice. “Would you mind if I give an outside perspective?” He asked.

“That would be appreciated,” Asuna said.

Ranma nodded looked at his wife and sons. “You all should offer your input as well.” He then turned his attention to the group. “From what I can determine, this AI-- you called her CARDINAL?” They nodded. “Well, CARDINAL clearly wants you all to do this. If the Nerve Gear was still a thing, I would say not to, but it isn’t. The AmuSphere doesn’t carry the same risks. That we know of, but that is neither here nor there. However, the decision is yours, and you have already decided, even if you haven’t recognized that fact. All of you are inclined to do this.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it, but I want you to ask yourselves this: is doing so, at least right now, the right thing?”

“Grandpa, what do you mean by that?” Keiko asked.

Ranma smiled at his granddaughter. “You can do so at any time, right?” He asked.

Keiko nodded.

“Well then, that means that you can also keep it to yourselves for now,” he said. “Give your AI friends a place. And then, what harm will come from waiting for a while? Maybe to give some other company a chance to see if they can develop a competitor? And if they can’t in… hmm… give it a half a year. If they can’t do it in half a year, then release it to the public. You don’t need to rush into it.”

Kazuto nodded. “And in that time, we can figure out if there are any potential issues with it,” he said. “Not to mention play around with it. Come up with some tutorials, maybe even do a guide for it. If only to help people take the first step on the first day.”

Ranma nodded. “And now, we go to a new subject,” he said. “You all can sense Ki to some degree. Keiko, I can understand. She was taught the basics of it. But the rest of you weren’t, and if Akane made the same observation, then she will have told you why that can be dangerous.”

They all nodded.

“I know that Keiko and Mister Potter are pretty much done with their physical therapy,” Ranma continued. “Their final appointment is later this week. Is it the same for the rest of you?”

“My next one is on the ninth,” Nijika said. “That’ll probably be the last one.”

“I had my last one yesterday,” Asuna said.

“Mine’s in two days,” Kazuto confirmed.

“I finished my therapy three days ago,” Hiyori added.

Ranma nodded. “Good,” he said. “I will make arrangements to meet with your families over the next two weeks and I hope they have no issues. You all need training, if only for your own sakes.”

**April 3, 2025 - Tokyo Harbor, Dock off MS Versperine**

Gabriel kept his impatience to himself as he waited for the customs officials to finish checking the ship and the bags of everyone who was disembarking the ship. It was a routine that every ship went through when they were known to have gone to other ports, whether they were from another country or not, so it wasn’t as if the _Vesperine_ was being singled out for this. Besides, the ship had been sufficiently modified enough and the crew, both official and unofficial, was good at hiding its true purpose.

True, a sufficiently attentive customs official could figure out that the crew was up to something. But any customs official worth his job knew to suspect that of any ship and crew that came into the harbor. Smuggling had been around since humans were nothing more than scattered tribes of hunter-gatherers and someone wanted something that was forbidden in their tribe, after all.

Not that it was difficult to know which officials could be persuaded to not look too hard, which is why they had docked this day and at this pier. Corruption was everywhere if one knew where to look and the CIA was very good at knowing where to look.

And if taking advantage of corruption wasn’t on the table, then simple blackmail would often suffice. The director of the harbor had ties to Yakuza groups that the ones that were known to have ties to this harbor were enemies of, to say nothing about some of his tastes.

He made a mental note to inform his superiors that it might be best to place an anonymous tip on the harbor master. It took both bribery and blackmail this time, and the price of it all was reaching the point where it would be best to burn some assets.

There were always other potentials that could be used.

_And speaking of potential assets, it’s a shame that Casals got himself killed in SAO,_ he thought. _Then again, the man couldn’t keep his hatred contained enough in that place. He could have been useful, but perhaps it’s for the best. That man’s absolute rancor for Gooks and Japs could have become a liability in time._

That sometimes happened in his line of work. Find people and things that could be useful if properly used, which he was good at in both regards, and they sometimes got taken out of the picture before they could be used. And Vassago Casals, for all his sociopathy and his hatred making him willing to potentially make the world _burn_ to satisfy it, could have been useful.

Dangerous if not properly handled, but useful. And even better, easily discarded and taken off the board if the need arose without anyone being overly concerned. Hell, the Japs would have probably _thanked_ him for it.

Such was life, really. And it wasn’t like his plans depended on the man.

No, his plans depended on _so much more_ than someone who would have been an attack dog, though he would have been good at that. No, his plans required people and resources outside simply having a sociopathic killer on his payroll to come to proper fruition.

He knew about the supernatural and what it might prove to him.

Not only whether souls truly existed— but whether they could be created or destroyed by the acts of a single man.

Whether mankind can usurp the gods themselves.

And with him operating within the purview of a role that would allow it, investigating the potential of Virtual Reality for training agents in new skills or making ones who couldn’t take the field useful for more than pushing papers, he had the time and resources, not to mention being able to call in the necessary talents, to see if that was possible. Especially as they learned more and more about the system that Kayaba had created, even if everything about ALO was credited to a company that the man had no ties to while he was still alive.

It would advance his interests and, by extension, the interests of the United States. He was a true patriot, after all-- his interest could not help but match his nation's.

**Chiyoda, SAO Task Force Headquarters**

Seijiro Kikuoka looked over the reports on how the survivors of SAO were adjusting to the real world. In four months, most of them seemed to have settled in as well as they could. Most of the younger adults were employed or in the process of finding employment and the older ones were content to retire and settle down, given their ages.

Those employed or looking for it might not find the jobs they are best qualified for, but they were at least being productively occupied. The younger ones were potentially more concerning, as keeping their status as SAO Survivors, with the potential traumas that may entail, quiet was going to be impossible. The school set up for them ensured that.

A sadly unavoidable consequence, but one that could be managed long enough for the entire issue to fade into the background enough to become a non-issue. The younger ones were in the best position to be nurtured into becoming assets for Japan’s future. Future leaders, executives, CEOs, or even researchers… the ones who could rise to those positions were there. They just needed fertile soil to be planted in.

And they were used to adversity and rising in spite of it. SAO had been their crucible, separating the steel from the slag. Now it was time to allow it to cool enough so that it can be properly shaped.

For all that several would like to claim otherwise, the VR technology pioneered by Kayaba was here to stay. The SAO Survivors lived in a virtual world for two years. They lived there, they survived its dangers, and they _thrived_. Even now, months after SAO was ended, the teams of sociologists were analyzing the recorded footage to see the culture and society that those trapped in SAO had developed there.

How they governed themselves. How they all begun to fall into roles. How they turned what could have devolved into anarchy into what could be loosely considered a functioning society. People with no training in it, no experience in adapting to new conditions, no precedent to follow. People who should have gone down the path that Golding had outlined in his Nobel Prize winning book, _Lord of the Flies,_ and become savages… had begun to form a functioning society.

One that had abandoned many of the niceties of modern civilization in their focus on survival and beating Kayaba at his own game, true. But it didn’t change the fact that they had managed to form the basics of a functioning society. One with its own culture and evolving rules of behavior.

But that was not what he was interested in. SAO was a world of its own, with its own rules, and how humans adapted to them, while definitely worth perusing, was only the surface of the potentials within what he saw.

He put the reports to the side and turned to his computer. Entering the password, he brought up a file and looked over a possible project that he had in mind. Twenty years in the JGSDF before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, at least officially, had shown him that Japan, for all that it was still one of the top spenders in defense, couldn’t even come close to matching the world’s military titans. They had limitations due to their own laws and treaties, but were very capable when operating within those limitations.

And those same laws and treaties did not preclude investing in what the technology Kayaba pioneered could lead to. One of which, in his mind, would be the most worthwhile investment of time and resources.

Using Full-Dive technology to help train soldiers, law enforcement and emergency responders, while useful, was too narrow in scope. If Japan wanted to get the most out of what Kayaba had created, they would have to think bigger.

True Artificial Intelligence, which he had good reason to suspect that the man had accomplished, even if he couldn’t prove it. If that was true, and of the puzzle that Kayaba had left behind could be cracked, then Japan could have something that would change the game.

Wars were wasteful in materials, property and lives. With AIs, he could find ways to protect Japan without putting a single one of its citizens in danger. With AIs, he could ensure that Japan’s cities weren’t in the crosshairs of nations who would want to destroy it. With AIs, he could prevent Japan from being subjugated and humiliated.

And if it required him to sacrifice them just to save one human life, so be it. If it required him to be considered a madman, albeit one who was trying to do the best he could for his nation… he would still do so. He had Japan’s best interests at heart, regardless of the methods he may be required to use.

But he also knew that just because he saw what he was planning as being within Japan’s best interests didn’t meant that everyone else would see it that way. He just hoped that he didn’t become a monster in the process. And if he did, that someone would stop him and finish it all with clean hands and without the burdens of what may have to be done.

He would take those burdens upon himself so that someone else wouldn’t have to.

A shame he hasn’t been able to meet with the SAO Survivors he wanted to. He was warned off trying to arrange such a meeting and he understood what that meant. They had some political protection and the ones behind it wanted them to be left alone. Understandable, considering that they were the ones to put an end to SAO.

They should be allowed to enjoy the freedom and peace they had fought so hard for two years to gain. They had earned it.

It was men like him whose job it was to make sure that they could enjoy it.

**April 6, 2025 - Undisclosed Location, Shiba Compound**

Harry almost stumbled as Mister Ikegami brought him to the compound through their own means of quickly traveling. Stepping, if he recalled. While nowhere near as energetic in feeling as going via floo, let alone as uncomfortable as what he had heard regarding apparition and using portkeys could be, he still found that staying on his feet required some effort.

Of course, that could be because every muscle he had was tired and sore in the first place. He hasn’t ached this much since his first year at Hogwarts and got accepted onto the Quidditch Team. The training regimen Oliver Wood subjected the Gryffindor team was notorious at the school, so he thought he knew what to expect in how he would feel.

How wrong he had been.

Keiko’s grandparents and eldest uncle had been _very_ thorough in seeing just where he was physically in order to know what they had to work with and what they would have to work on. At least in the physical sense.

So he was now tired, sore, and was likely to start aching something fierce before long.

He was looking forward to a relaxing bath and to rub the liniment he was given onto his muscles when Mister Ikegami reminded him that today was also the day where he would be meeting with Remus and Klein… _No, Professor Lupin and Mister Tsuboi,_ he reminded himself. _They are here in their capacity as tutors, so the forms must be observed._

He would be meeting with them so that they could go over where he stood with regards to what he remembered about using magic. What spells he could still do. What theory he could recall. Things like that.

And it was likely to take a few hours. Keiko’s comment about meeting him in ALO after dinner if he was up to it now made sense. If he was going to simply rest and recover, then she asked him to call her or send her a text.

He had heard about the Japanese ethos when it came to studying. Now he was about to experience it.

##

Remus shared a look with Ryotaro as Harry finished the last series of spells they asked him to cast. A mix of _Lumos, Nox, Wingardium Leviosa, Finite,_ and several other charms. So far, he had cast most of the spells without having to be talked through them, showing that he hadn’t forgotten as much of the practical aspects of using magic as he did the theory.

In fact, from what Remus was able to see, Harry’s ability with transfiguration had grown, despite him not having learned any new spells in two years and having forgotten a good number of the ones he had learned before being trapped in Sword Art Online. Then again, transfiguration relied very heavily on visualization and then manipulating the magic to accomplish the result. Without either, then the spell would not work anyway.

“He has experience in directly manipulating magic,” was all that Ryotaro said. “Everyone who could use it developed a few tricks that allowed them to bend SAO’s rules. So it’s not surprising that some of that carried over.” He gave Harry a searching look. “I wonder if that’s all that he brought with him, though.”

Remus was curious what he meant by that, but felt that it was a question that could be asked later. Right now, he had a pupil to inform where he stood.

“All right, Harry, we’re done with the evaluation,” Remus said.

Harry relaxed and gave off a quiet sigh of relief. “How far behind am I from where I should be?” He asked.

“Kid, I’ll be honest, your grasp of theory sucks,” Ryotaro said bluntly.

Remus was about to chide the man when he noticed Harry nod as if he expected that answer. “And in actually using magic?” He asked.

“Rusty,” Ryotaro replied. “You don’t remember all the spells, no surprise there, but your ability to use magic wasn’t hurt by your little tour of Aincrad. If anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if you will have an easier time with learning new spells than you may have in the past. How much of your unique skill involved you using magic?”

“Quite a bit,” Harry replied. “And I was well on my way to being able to tell what my magic felt like before then. I... may have tried to see if I could use a sword as an improvised wand a few times. Didn’t work, but it did get me to notice something. After I got the skill, well… I could use magic, so long as they were within SAO’s rules. More charms related now that I think about it.”

“But your skill at manipulating magic was maintained, and you had to be able to visualize it, right?”

Harry nodded. “When I managed to develop the Earth Wall OSS, I first did it that way,” he said after a thoughtful moment. “It got made into an actual skill afterward due to the system classifying it as such, with requirements that had to be met, but I knew how it felt. Every time I used it… they felt the same way as that first time. And… well now, if the requirements of being in that particular affinity for a set period were to be considered the words for the spell, with the way of transitioning into that affinity being the wand movements…” He began to chuckle. “That brilliant bastard. He probably didn’t even know what he was doing when he set it up that way, but he did.”

Remus blinked while Ryotaro looked thoughtful for a moment before he chuckled himself. “What am I missing?” He asked the two of them.

“Sorry, sorry,” Harry apologized. “It’s just that I’m now realizing that Kayaba managed to do something that could revolutionize magic despite not knowing how it worked.”

“And that would be?”

“He managed to, without even knowing it, create a computer program that could serve as a substitute for using a focus and words for a spell,” Ryotaro said. “It won’t replace them any time soon, though. A focus and the words used are far more versatile, for one thing.”

Harry nodded and then battled with a yawn. He gave in and managed a tired smile. “But for an environment like SAO, it was more than enough.”

They all heard a growling noise.

“And with that, I believe that it’s time for us to call it a day,” Remus said with some amusement. “I know that Harry will want to get something to eat, and maybe some rest.”

**Alfheim, Yggdrasil City**

CARDINAL moved about her workshop as she went over the data she had gathered. With the World Seed completed and the entire matter out of her hands, she had decided to go over some anomalies that she had found.

Nothing that impacted the World Seed, thankfully, but some of the data from Aincrad seemed to have latched onto it when she uploaded it to ALO. It was separate, and the data wasn’t doing anything, so she had decided to leave the data be while she completed the project.

With it done, she could dedicate a few processes to examining them. Most were simple fragments. Items, bits of buildings, small things. Well there was that one NPC, Kizmel, from the Elven War questline, whose data, while inactive, came through intact.

That some SAO data bled through when she uploaded the seed wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. Especially since she, Strea and Yui also came to ALO. With how much data went forward with them all, it was easily within the realm of possibility for excess data to come as well.

But she didn’t expect for a fully intact NPC, especially one that had been growing and changing with SAO to a greater degree than most. After looking over Kizmel’s code, CARDINAL realized that, while Kizmel was still only an NPC, the complexity of her code was approaching the point where it would begin to grow on its own without external inputs or influences.

Kizmel’s data indicated that the NPC was likely a nascent AI.

Also, she recalled that both Kirito and Asuna had managed to bond with Kizmel in Aincrad. Perhaps they would like to know that a friend from there did manage to survive. Also, Yui and Strea might like a new sister. Or maybe Kizmel would be a more akin to a cousin, considering that she started as an NPC, rather than be designed from the ground up as an AI.

She wondered if Kayaba even realized it. While the possibility of using the technology to create a world that could grow and house AIs was something he had mused on, she could not say with any certainty if he even tried it. Perhaps he had and simply didn’t log it, which would have been unlike him. The man was scrupulous at keeping records, and she had perfect recall of all of them.

So how had an admittedly advanced NPC grown so much?

As tempted as she was to call on Steel Phoenix for this, she decided not to. She was the administrative AI for Sword Art Online, Kizmel was her responsibility to make a decision on what to with her.

Though she would consult with Freyja, her Alfheim Online counterpart, on the matter. She was inclined to introduce Kizmel to Alfheim Online, and she would need her counterpart’s permission to do so. Especially if her suspicions about Kizmel proved to be correct.


	2. Fresh Growth

Mystic Knight Online: Worlds to Sow

Chapter 2: Fresh Growth

**April 8, 2025 - Nerima**

Harry paused as he saw the sushi cart with its familiar chef and headed over to it. He had seen it and its proprietor far too many times for it to be coincidence. Probably one of his watchers. The question was who he was watching him for. The Shibas? The Ministry of Shugenja? The regular Japanese Government? Someone else?

His stomach reminded him of why he was out and about. Sirius had done the grocery shopping this week and all they had was instant dishes and meals that could be thrown into the microwave. While he had no issues with instant ramen, udon and other quickly cooked meals, let alone the stuff that he could simply nuke, he wanted something a bit more substantive.

So he was out to grab something and then hit the market to pick up ingredients so he could cook something up. Miss Hanaori had taught him a few things, mostly simple recipes, but she also showed him how to look them up online. She even knew of a few sites that were in English, too. Miss Shirashi's endorsement had been interesting-- "so easy, I can do it." Apparently, the elder of the female Shiba retainers was still learning her way around the kitchen. He hadn't pried.

Well, he was originally heading to Ucchan’s, the okonomiyaki there was good, but he decided that some quick sushi wouldn’t hurt. He gave an idle wave at one of the Amazon watchers, who usually kept an eye on Keiko, but one or two did sometimes watch him.

Either to keep him out of trouble or simply to be there to keep him and Keiko from getting too romantic, he didn’t know. He certainly didn’t ask. There were, after all, limits to what could be asked someone in good taste, regardless of culture.

"Welcome to Umemori Sushi!" the proprietor said, grinning broadly as Harry sat at one of the stools set before the cart. "A pleasure to have you, Mr. Potter!"

Harry just nodded. He had dined out enough at this point to know that being too thankful toward an establishment's staff could be as bad as not being gracious enough. "I'm in your hands," Harry said simply, waving off the neatly printed menu.

The sushi chef gave a brief bow, and started reaching into his cooler.

"I am the first of my family to serve as a Shiba retainer," the chef said as he pulled out some of his selection, at one point reconsidering and putting something back and switching it for another cut.

"Ah. So they're why we keep seeing you, then," Harry said. He assumed that, unless the older man thought their privacy was secure, he wouldn't be talking about such things openly. Then again, this was the Furinkan District of Nerima.

"Yes. Also, I offered to be available to you as we have something in common."

Harry raised his eyebrow at the man shaping rice for nigiri.

"Tell me, Harry, do you know where your western wand movements originated?"

Harry smirked. "My Charms teacher went off about it one day when someone was complaining about their Ancient Runes and Writings course work. Not even my year, but it set him off for about three hours. Flitwick's often been animated, but that was one of the few times I've seen him proper mad, Mr. Umemori."

"Ah, yes, you went to Hogwarts," Genta said as he paused in cutting fish, seemingly pleased at his level of formality as well as his academic history. "You should look up some of Flitwick-sensei's papers, he has a good range of beginner to advanced writings. And so...?"

"Like most places where a standardized magic system comes after some form of writing," Harry said, smiling as the tuna was set before him laid on small rectangles of sushi rice with a bit of wasabi between the sashimi and the rice. “The gestures mimic the writing-- in our case, mainly the Celtic Ogham and the Elder Futhark of the Norse. They then got abstracted from there, and as Arithmancy and spell crafting developed, movements that had their own meanings were added. I'm given to understand by when I've seen the other Shiba retainers and Lady Shiba use magic that here in Japan, it's remained less abstract?"

"In a manner of speaking, but there is a reason most practitioners of Onmyodo use brush-pen as foci in this part of the world," Genta agreed. He paused as Harry dipped a piece of the tuna in plain soy sauce and popped it in his mouth. Genta smiled as Harry let it linger on his tongue a moment, then chewed and swallowed.

"... the rice. I... wow, I think I finally get why Asuna and Keiko keep going on about comparing the sushi rice where we eat, that was magic-- er, metaphorically. You say 'most' use a brush-pen?"

"You should see the curry rice I make once a year on Boy's day-- they love my rice in that too," Genta smirked. "I always had a great degree of magical talent, held back by one simple fact."

"Oh?"

"My calligraphy has never gotten beyond that of a fourth grader," Genta said bluntly. "And yet, today... well, your Professor Flitwick has contacted me a few times about _my_ journal publications."

Harry blinked. "You improved your penmanship that much?"

"No," Genta said, pulling out a cellphone and flipping it open. "I have a legitimate hand eye coordination issue. It's never going to go away, and I _could_ fight the uphill battle..." He tapped a few keys on the phone, and smiled. "But I decided there's this valley between the mountains that can get be there."

And the sushi chef pointed his phone at the counter, pushing a button. " _Origami-- Shishawotsukawasu_ ," he intoned.

It wasn't until the mist coalesced into a golden crayfish that Harry realized that he had seen something like that. "I’ve seen something like that before. A…” He thought for a moment. It was a specific charm that was notoriously difficult to cast, but what was it? “Damn, I can’t quite remember what it’s called.”

“You’re thinking of the Patronus Charm,” Genta said. “It’s not quite the same, though similar. Onmyodo specializes in things like what the Patronus is known to do. While what I did wouldn’t be useful against demons like a Patronus would be, it’s handy with passing messages on.”

“You have individual spells for that?” Harry asked. “Of course you do. Less abstraction means more specific uses in a spell. More efficient and probably requiring less power, but at the cost of being less versatile.”

Genta blinked. “And you haven’t studied magic in two years, with only two years of education there,” he said. “Experience from SAO?”

Harry nodded. “We weren’t only fighting,” he said. “Kirito and I did a comparison between our unique skills. How both were potentially game changing and yet how different they were. He thought it to be the difference between the potentially versatile nature of Mystic Blade when compared to the more specialized nature of Dual Wielding. Anyway, you were saying?”

“Right, my spell,” Genta replied. “Well, in our terms-- Origami is a pun meaning 'folded kami', in this case, a family spirit 'kept folded in your heart'. This is the spell's messenger form-- Go tell Take-chan I'm talking with Harry," Genta said, addressing the summoned form. The crayfish set off through the air, fading as it went.

"You cast a spell with your cellphone," Harry realized.

"You used magic in a VR setting," Genta noted, smirking.

Harry slowly smiled back. "I've been thinking..."

Genta snorted. "I've found when that scares people, I'm on the right track."

“Because you’re getting ideas?” Harry asked knowingly.

“And your friends were the same way?”

Harry chuckled. “Less scared and more resigned to the latest insanity I was about to do that would put my life in more danger than it already was in a battle,” he said. “Asuna was the planner of us all. I was the one who came up with things in the middle of a fight when the plan was either shot to hell, or an opportunity struck. They usually worked, but sometimes…” He grimaced. “Just because it usually worked doesn’t mean that it still wasn’t crazy and at times stupid.”

“Such as flying a dragon?” Genta asked with some amusement.

Harry chuckled. “You know, that one wasn’t even my idea,” he replied. “It was Klein’s. Kirito and I were just drunk enough to go along with it.”

##

Keiko let out a grunt as she hit the ground from the throw her uncle subjected her to before quickly rolling out of the way of the expected follow through. Unlike Harry, who had been subjected to the kind of exhausting physical evaluation that was her family’s way of seeing just what they had to work with and build on, her evaluation was meant for them to see what they had to rebuild, with her skills now being tested.

Before SAO, she had just been considered proficient with the basics, by her family’s standards. Now, they were evaluating just how much she remembered and how much she had to unlearn from her experiences in SAO.

And her combat instincts had to be tempered as well. She had spent two years fighting battles where the possibility of dying was very real, and her responses in a fight reflected that unless she exercised a conscious effort to restrain them. If her grandparents or uncles weren’t as good as they were, then sparring would have been out of the question after the first match.

That didn’t stop any spars from having specific restrictions on them, or at least one of her grandparents there to intervene.

As it stood, she was getting her ass handed to her. Not unexpected really, but the fact that her body wasn’t reacting as quickly as she saw her uncles movements coming was galling. She knew she had a long way to go before she had even a fraction of the physical capability she was used to, but the spars were driving it home.

“And time!” Ranma called out.

Keiko relaxed her body from the readiness it had instinctively gone into and straightened. She bowed to her uncle and then bowed to her grandfather.

“You did well there, Keiko,” Ranma said. “You made far fewer mistakes than expected and I think you know where they stemmed from.”

Keiko nodded. “I do,” she said. Oh, she knew _exactly_ what her mistakes were. Less in terms of skill, mistakes could get one killed in SAO, after all. No, it was how she initially approached the spars, and her uncle gave her precious little time to readjust.

“Care to explain?”

“I’m still trying to move as if I’m in SAO with the capabilities I have there,” she explained. “While I can see the attacks coming, I am trying to move as if I have the speed and strength to do as I would have there, which, as Uncle Akira repeatedly demonstrated by tossing me around, is not the case.” She shot her uncle a wry look.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Keiko,” Akira responded. “You started taking that into account pretty quickly and started adjusting your movements to reflect that you aren’t as physically capable out here. Yet at least.”

“Uncle, I don’t plan on dedicating the kind of time needed to get my physical abilities that high out in the real world,” Keiko replied. “Even if I did, I personally think that I would only get to the point where I was when we were halfway up that castle, basically around the level of a solid Middy.”

“You might be surprised,” Ranma said. “But training to the same level as us was never your goal even before SAO. You were forced to get to that level there out of necessity, but now that you are out here in the real world, your priorities are different.”

“Of course they are,” Keiko said. “I might go into ALO, but a lot of that is because I can go into the Virtual World and see it as it was meant to be, a new world to explore and adventure in. Not what SAO sadly ended up being.”

“And given what your mother has said--” Akira began.

Keiko shook her head. “No uncle, it’s not so that Harry and I can get around the restrictions on how far we can take things, though that is a nice bonus should we decide to take advantage of it,” she said.

“You walked right into that one, Akira,” Ranma said with a chuckle as his eldest son sputtered. “I know you’ve been told this before, Keiko, but I will say it again. SAO has been a bad influence on you.”

**Alfheim, Arun**

Kirito guided Asuna to the restaurant that had been recommended to him by Harry. His friend had easily divined that he was doing this for the sake of taking Asuna to some place for the two of them to simply have some time together. Outside of some light teasing, his friend simply gave him the location of a place with the caveat that both he and Asuna should dress nicely. Not formal, but more along the lines of how they dressed when they went on their last outing together in Aincrad.

Harry hadn’t called it a date, but Kirito knew full well that his friend had only not called it a “not date” by the slimmest of margins if his obvious amusement was any indication. Well, he had to expect that from Harry. He and Asuna had teased him and Silica often enough, so they were going to love taking this and putting it into a romantic context for their own amusement.

Kirito would admit, he didn’t find the idea of him and Asuna entering into a relationship to be objectionable, but the real world would put paid to anything deeper than friendship for the time being, if not longer. The two of them came from different walks of life. Asuna was from the upper-class, he was from the middle-class. Upper middle-class, but still middle-class. And unlike SAO, things like that mattered in the real world.

_Stop thinking about that,_ he thought as he held the seat out for Asuna to sit in. _What will happen, will happen. Just enjoy what you have right now and don’t worry about what may be._

As he sat down, Asuna looked around the restaurant. “You know, I am beginning to think that those two are trying to hook us up,” she said.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Kirito said. “If only for them to maximize the teasing they can then give us.”

“Their way of getting back at us for the times we teased them?” Asuna asked with a chuckle.

“Or their seeing more than there was because of our last date in SAO,” Kirito replied. “Don’t get me wrong, if SAO had continued longer, I can see things progressing that way, but with us having gotten free of SAO when we did, the real world is…” he grimaced. “Let’s just enjoy a good meal and not worry about that.”

Asuna nodded. “Yes, let’s.”

The two of them were handed menus by an NPC waitress, a Salamander if her red hair and tanned skin tone was any indication. They quickly made their orders, both noting how this place was like some of the fancier places in SAO with that little detail.

The waitress returned with their drinks in short order, wine for both of them. Kirito picked up the glass and took a sip. It wasn’t bad. Sweeter and fruitier than SAO’s wines were, but not bad at all.

“I’m surprised you didn’t order beer,” Asuna said.

“Let’s just say that Harry’s taste in beer from SAO has spoiled me,” Kirito replied. “And ALO’s beer is lacking in comparison to what could have been found in SAO. And we’ve both heard Harry’s complaints about that.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Asuna noted. “Beer wasn’t my thing there, and if you and Harry are claiming it is lacking, then I certainly won’t try it here.” She looked at her wine. “This doesn’t even taste the same, but it is still good.”

Kirito nodded. “That it is.”

That was how it went for now. Just sitting together and sharing fine company.

Real or virtual world, Kirito reflected, there were worse investments of his time.

**Yggdrasil City**

Strea looked at Silica, who was moving gingerly. “What happened with her?” She asked Harry.

“Training,” he replied. “I felt like that after they evaluated just how out of shape I’m in, and then went through the ringer with my tutors on my special education track.” He looked at her. “It’s more mental. She was sore when she logged on, so the memory of that carried over. It’ll settle down in a bit.”

“It’s still a pain in the ass,” Silica groaned. “And given how often my uncle tossed me around, my ass hurts! Hell, my _tail_ hurts, and I don’t have one in the real world.”

“We do have tailbones, dear,” Harry said. “And if you got tossed around like you say you have been, you’ve probably landed on yours a few times.” He smirked. “I would offer to kiss it and make it better, but we’re in public.”

“I am not walking into that trap and telling you two to get a room before you do something salacious right in the streets,” Strea said. “That’s being saved for your anniversary, which is next week if I recall. So, should I find Argo so we can sell tickets?”

Harry and Silica both looked at her and then at each other.

“Did she just…?” Harry began before pausing.

“I think she did,” Silica replied.

“We _have_ been a bad influence on her, haven’t we?”

“It seems we have.”

Strea just shook her head. “Of course you two have been a bad influence on me,” she said. “All of you have, really. Well, not Asuna, but that’s because she has to ride herd on everyone.”

“That also includes you, or do I need to remind you about that one time involving the Crystals and a fishing trip with Kirito?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

Strea flushed. “We promised not to talk about that,” she said with a pout. “I would bring up that little fashion show that you and Kirito put on before Yui and I joined you all, but you simply own it, and Kirito can laugh about it now.”

“It helps that I have pictures,” Silica said. “Haven’t shown them to Leafa yet, but my family, family friends, and the friends of his parents have seen them.” She shot Harry and amused look. “And my Uncles… they tried something similar. Didn’t work in embarrassing Harry, though.”

Harry smirked.

Strea nodded. She had heard about that incident, though she hadn’t seen it. She was still trapped in that virtual space with Yui and hadn’t been paying attention to them at the time, but trying to break free. _A pity,_ she thought. _That would have given me something to laugh about back then._ “So, you two set Kirito and Asuna up on a date, and at a nice place?”

“That we did,” Harry said. “We aren’t so crass as to call it a date, or a ‘not date’ for that matter, to their faces, though.”

“Why not?” Strea asked.

“Because we’re the ones who set it up,” Silica replied. “Since they would know that we’re thinking it anyway, there’s no point in it.”

“Argo would have,” Strea noted.

“But that’s Argo,” Silica said. “Set someone up on a date just so she can tease him or her? That’s _so_ her.”

“Aww, you think so little of me Silica?”

Strea jumped in shock as a Cait Sith with a _very_ familiar voice seemed to just appear behind her. She noted that neither Harry, nor Silica jumped, but it seemed as if they only barely managed to.

“How does she do that?” Harry asked no one. “Even Outside, she can sneak up on us, and we’re able to pick out people most of the time when they’re actually trying.”

“Let me say that the skill I have with that is a bit unique,” Argo replied with a smirk. “That, and I have some special gifts as a part of what I am to begin with.”

Harry and Silica just nodded and then paused. “Wait, unique?” Silica asked. “You had a Unique Skill in SAO?”

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t,” Argo replied in a teasing tone. “Anyway, what are you all up to? I saw Kii-bou and Aa-chan all dressed up and heading to one of Arun’s nicer restaurants, so I know what they’re up to. But you three? And what about Rain, Lux and Yui?”

“Rain and Lux are taking their parents to see my grandparents,” Silica said. “Asuna’s parents are busy, so that meeting is happening tomorrow. And before you ask, I think grandpa already scheduled a meeting with Kirito’s parents on Friday. As for Yui, we are heading over to meet with her and an associate.”

“An associate?” Argo asked.

“An associate,” Harry, Strea and Silica confirmed.

Argo nodded. “If you’re going to be that way...” she began.

“We know you’ll probably figure it out,” Silica said. “If said associate doesn’t just arrange a meeting with you and asks you to keep certain things quiet. She’ll know your reputation. She’ll know it quite well, actually.”

Argo grinned and nodded. “Ah, so I have until then to figure it out,” she said. “Challenge accepted. Anyway, I’m heading to the Sword’s Rest Tavern to touch base with Agil. See ya!” With a wave, she walked off.

“Are you sure that was smart?” Strea asked. “Challenging her like that?”

Harry looked at Silica, clearly curious as well.

“Strea, it’s Argo,” Silica said as if that was all the explanation needed.

Strea thought on it and nodded. It really was all the explanation needed. She did wonder how The Rat would take meeting another AI though.

**April 9, 2025 - Shibuya, Han no Daidakoro**

“This place is a bit expensive, but I’m surprised they didn’t give any subtle indication that they might find this place insulting or beneath them,” Akane said to Ranma as the two of them looked at the entrance to the restaurant from outside the Watatsuki Building.

“I asked Nabiki for any info on a good place for this meeting that would be within our budget, especially with how much I can eat,” Ranma said. “She told me that this place would be a good choice.”

Akane nodded. If anyone would know, her older sister would. Nabiki had clawed her way up to leading her own company and turning it into the business it was over the last thirty-five years. While nowhere near the size or wealth of a _Zaibatsu_ , let alone a Fortune 500 Company, she was still a well-known name in the business world now.

Magata Yanagi Enterprises did far more than was on the surface. To the point that many suspected, but could not prove, Yakuza connections, which always amused the woman.

And one of the softer skills she had mastered in building what was becoming a small corporate empire was how to wine and dine people without being excessive about it.

Akane shook that thought out of her head. She had her own suspicions about that, but they weren’t pertinent to why she and her husband had come to Shibuya.

They were here to meet with the parents of a potential student.

##

Shouzou looked over the menu, idly considering the oddity of _him_ being the one to not be hosting the meeting, even if some of his habits tried to rear themselves. Such as pretending to be carefully considering what to order that would be shared among everyone. It was an old game for him, look as if he’s up to something else so that whoever arrived would think that they surprised him when they did. It gave them a sense of control for the inevitable meeting and allowed him to see just what kind of person he was dealing with.

That, and they wouldn’t see that he was making a deal that was more to his advantage than theirs, though he made sure that those he dealt with got something out of the deal. Not only would it save them face when they realized it, but it also kept them coming back when it became clear that he was more of a straight dealer than most of his competitors.

Of course, it only worked, when it did at that, until the individuals wised up to his methods. Some weren’t fooled at all and were, if anything, at least as skilled at the game of corporate politics.

Well, that and he was deciding on what he would order if it were up to him. Perhaps the Manpuku Yakiniku Course? Or maybe Kan’s Specialty Course? Both tended to go well with people and should be more than enough while being reasonable in cost. Were he paying, he could easily afford the more luxurious courses, true, but he wanted to keep things reasonable here, not show off.

Of course, the choice wasn’t his, but old habits and all of that. The one who called the meeting already said that he would pay for the meal.

A glance at the man who was not only a martial arts grandmaster but also a Living National Treasure showed that he was wise to what was going on. Nothing obvious, but the slight amusement in the man’s eyes told him all he needed to know.

Looking it over, he closed it and put it down before meeting the man’s eyes squarely. Another habit of his. In Japan meeting someone’s eyes could be seen as rude, or at least an indication of disrespect when done by someone who was clearly in a subordinate position. Socially or hierarchically, it didn’t matter. He did it to see if the person would flinch and break the eye contact.

It also helped that he did occasionally deal with Westerners, who preferred eye contact due to their own cultural belief that a person willing to look you in the eye was more likely to be dealing with you honestly. Not guaranteed, of course, but more likely.

Those who didn’t flinch, even if they broke the eye contact out of respect, were often ones who showed promise.

Grandmaster Saotome met his eyes and nodded, acknowledging the action for what it was. All without any indication that he may have been insulted by it. Given what he had been able to learn about the man, how he rose to being what he was, it fit what his instincts told him then.

This was a man who was self-assured enough to not be intimidated by dominance plays. If anything, he would be amused by them. If half of what he had learned about the man was completely true, it would make sense.

So, why had he made an offer to train Asuna? With SAO over and done with, so it wasn’t as if she needed to learn how to defend herself. Was it?

##

Kyouko sipped her tea as she looked across the table at the wife of the man who had requested the meeting. Akane Saotome was dressed rather simply. Her dress, while well made, spoke of someone who preferred a more modest lifestyle than the one her research into the family indicated they could live within. Having four children, all of whom went through college, one going on to become a medical doctor, did not speak of a family that was hurting for money. Which made off one line of consideration as to why they would have made this offer less likely.

She had doubted that it was the case, but she had to consider that possibility. She had married into wealth, after all. The criticisms she sometimes heard from the harpies who were “talking quietly to each other” who came from wealth about her being a social climber did have a grain of truth behind them. The stated motives for it that they thought, rising in status, was laughable, but she _did_ marry into wealth for a reason.

She wanted the security so she could pursue her own goals and dreams, rather than resign herself to a more traditional life. Just as she had wanted Asuna to marry well so she could pursue her own.

“Reality tends to laugh at what we want,” Akane said.

“Pardon?” Kyouko asked.

“Whatever we wanted for those caught in SAO… what went on there has changed them,” Akane clarified. “During it, their goals and priorities shifted. Now that it’s over, they are slowly changing those goals and priorities to reflect their new reality, but whatever we wanted for them has to change as well.” She shook her head. “I know you and your husband did some research on us.” She gave a small smile at Kyouko’s start. “My sister is Nabiki Tendo and she always keeps an ear out in case it happens so she can let us know.”

“What we found out, outside of what is already public record, is mostly rumor and hearsay,” Kyouko said.

“Some of that is even true,” Akane said. “But that isn’t the point of this meeting. My husband and I noticed something that got out attention.”

“And what would that be?” Kyouko asked.

“Have you heard about System Awareness?” Akane asked.

Kyouko shook her head.

“From what we can tell, it is the digital equivalent of the very things that give people survival instincts,” Akane said. “Things like being aware of something dangerous being out and about, being watched, or simply having a feeling that something is just not right where you’re at, even if you can’t see it. And your daughter, as well as her friends, all had that awareness to a refined degree, and it followed them out.”

“But surely--"

"It's not something that will fade,” Akane said. “It's a skill they've gained that needs to be retrained. Like a warrior being helped to adjust to civilian life. Not all the changes they underwent are fit for a peaceful society." She glanced at her husband.

“It took me years,” Grandmaster Saotome said with a nod. “After I spent a decade travelling and training in martial arts, and the years after that, I was often fighting. Either to improve my skills, or for some asinine reason that either myself or my opponent thought were important at the time.” His shrug was wry. “We were all young and foolish back then, weren’t we?”

“That we were,” Akane said. “And then there were the times when things were for far more serious reasons. But your experiences in readjusting to a more peaceful life have helped you in teaching others who need similar help."

"... is that what's on offer?" her husband asked.

"If only to help them avoid my mistakes," Grandmaster Saotome affirmed. “Granted, there is a martial component to it. Part of the training is to teach them all skills that they can use that don’t have them going for lethal strikes. We’re already doing it with my granddaughter, and trust me, she knows better and she has to relearn the need to use less than lethal methods.” His look was serious.

“Teaching them to disarm and subdue without causing severe injury and not go for lethal strikes is as much a part of what they will be learning as the meditation to help them keep themselves centered will be,” Akane said. “And those instincts, without that retraining, make them very dangerous to anyone who trips them at the wrong time.”

“How can you tell?” Kyouko asked. “How can you tell that our daughter has those instincts?”

“Akane, I’ll field this,” Ranma said before looking at both Kyouko and Shouzou. “We know, because of how we can know that their System Awareness manifests out here in the real world. I’m sure you’ve heard of Ki.”

Kyouko nodded. “A branch of the concept of Chi, the philosophical idea that all living things are tied together,” she said. “Whereas Chi is the connections that all living things share, Ki is the concept of Chi when applied to a single living being. While there is some evidence for it, it is only on an inferential basis and nothing that can be proven scientifically.”

Ranma nodded. “In other words, an absence of conclusive scientific evidence of a phenomenon that martial artists and esoteric scholars have known for centuries,” he said. “Which, mind you, is not evidence of the absence of a phenomenon.”

“Granted,” Kyouko agreed. She noticed that he didn’t ask if she actually believed in it, but she could tell that he was already aware that she was skeptical. On the other hand, she had mentored Sumire Saotome when the woman went to university. She had seen the woman do _something_ when she practiced. Not enough to know what it was, but it was something she had no knowledge of.

“So, it’s because of an ability she had inside SAO then.” Shouzou said. “But how would that tie in with her survival instincts?”

“It’s because those instincts would have her react to any potential threat in a _very_ permanent manner,” Ranma said and then held up a hand, forestalling both Shouzou and Kyouko’s protests. “I know, she hasn’t shown any signs that she would do so, but those instincts are _still there_. When I brought up Ki, it was because of how I found out how their awareness translates out here. All people have some instinctive ability to sense Ki, but they can detect it to a far higher degree than is safe without training. I wouldn’t be surprised if they can discern intent as well.”

Shouzou nodded. “So it’s more disciplining those instincts, ensuring that she doesn’t act automatically with… lethal intent,” he grimaced as he mentioned just how it was said that Asuna was likely to react to a threat to her person. “As for ‘Ki’, I won’t debate the matter. There is always more to this world than we know, after all.”

“Shouzou?” Kyouko asked.

Shouzou shook his head. “It’s nothing, Kyouko,” he replied. “Just recalling a quote I heard once. ‘There is more in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,’ if I am remembering it correctly.”

“Hamlet Act One, Scene Five,” Akane said. At Shouzou and Kyoko’s looks, she smiled. “I was interested in Western theater when I was younger, even acted in a few plays in High School despite not being in the Drama Club. I’m familiar with Shakespeare’s works. While the original meaning is not what I think you intend to say, that quote does have some relevance here, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed,” Shouzou said. “As it stands, Asuna has already broached the matter with us, and I know that she wished to undergo the training you’re offering. The self-discipline that martial arts will provide, and from a Living National Treasure like Grandmaster Saotome, and you as well, Master Saotome, is not an offer that should be lightly refused.” He looked at Kyouko.

“So long as she maintains her grades,” Kyouko said. “I don’t want her to sacrifice her potential future because of this.”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Ranma said. “I insist on my students maintaining good grades at school as a matter of course. I don’t want them to have the difficulties that I had when I was younger, after all.”

**April 10, 2025 - Alfheim, Yggdrasil City**

Coming fully to awareness was a slow process for her. She remembered being in Her Majesty’s throne room, about to ask for permission to go out and explore Aincrad and track down Kirito and Asuna, though she knew that she would probably have to find - what was her name again? Ah yes, Argo. She would probably be forced to track down Argo to enquire about them.

News did travel down Aincrad, and she recalled adventurers talking about a recent victory of the two who had been her allies in helping her. On the seventy-fourth floor, if she recalled.

They had actually climbed that high, connecting the floors of the castle, in so short a time? Their stories about having been forced into their adventures had only started but two years ago!

They truly were heroes for whom legends would be made.

“Hey!” A female voice said. “I think she’s waking up!”

“Keep it down, Strea,” Came the response from another female. “It is not unexpected, her processes have been ramping up and increasing. But you are making too much noise. She will come fully online when she does, no sooner.”

_Strea?_ She thought. _Where had I heard that name before?_ _Oh, right, Asuna and Kirito founded an adventuring band of their own. A guild, adventurers like them called it. Asuna was in the lead. What was its name again? Steel… it was some kind of legendary bird if I recall, a phoenix? Yes, that’s it. Steel Phoenix. Strea was the name of the woman who joined up with them several months after it was founded, if I recall._

There was something else involving them. Several somethings, but she couldn’t recall what. _Damn it,_ she mentally cursed. _It’s like all those times I could have sworn were memories of me dying. Kirito even figured in a few of them, but the context of them… it was like a remembered dream, or a nightmare._

“Her processes have increased,” the second voice continued. “Yes, Strea, that means she’s waking up. Why don’t you go stand by Yui, act your apparent age, and _be quiet_. She’s going to have a difficult time processing what has happened.”

“Why?” Came the question, which she, herself could admit to wanting to know. “She’s just like us, right?”

There was a sigh from somewhere. “Strea, she isn’t like us,” a third, childlike, voice said. “She was an NPC, who has become more than what she was.”

NPC? She recalled that term. Kirito and Asuna used it when talking about the residents of the various places that were not monsters or anything that they were fighting. People, but apparently not to them. She recalled that they also referred to her as one, but over the time they shared, they began to drop that term when referring to her.

And that made her glad, even if they still used that term amongst themselves when referring to her people. As if they were some kind of golems. Preposterous!

_I am not some golem,_ she thought.

“No, you’re not,” The second voice said. “And yes, you spoke that aloud.”

She cracked open her eyes and took stock of her location. Wooden walls, a wooden ceiling, she was obviously in a room of some sort. Opening them wider, she glanced to where she heard the voices come from.

Forest Elves, here?! They shouldn’t be in the… wait, this wasn’t the palace. And those elves… they weren’t Forest Elves. Their skin was pale, but their ears were differently shaped, and their hair wasn’t any shade she had seen on a Forest Elf.

The younger one technically _could_ pass for a Dark Elf, albeit one who was either of mixed blood or who had spent far too much time indoors. Her skin was darker than the others, but still paler than most Dark Elves.

The fact that she was wearing mail armor and comfortably at that, however, heavily implied that the latter was almost certainly not the case. The one next to her, very tall, with lilac hair and pink eyes, was wearing a full set of heavy plate.

The third one, despite her blue hair, was almost normal in comparison. Robes, a scholarly look, she wouldn’t have been out of place amongst the magisters at the palace, were it not for her apparent youth. Granted, elves lived centuries, but even among them, a magister had lived long enough to show signs of his or her age. It was her, who spoke.

“As the humans would say, welcome down the rabbit hole,” she said. “I am CARDINAL, and we have much to discuss, Kizmel.”


	3. School Days and Meeting at the Bar, Or: Dear old Rules of Academics and RPGs

**April 10, 2025 - Alfheim, Yggdrasil City**

Kizmel looked at CARDINAL with some curiosity at the woman’s last statement. Welcome down rabbit hole? What did that mean and why was it a human saying?

“Using a saying based on Lewis Carroll’s _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_?” The darker haired one asked.

“It’s fitting,” the blue haired one, CARDINAL, said with a shrug. “She comes from Aincrad, and is now in Alfheim, Yui. You know full well how the two places are different. She doesn’t have the context that you and Strea do, so the saying is appropriate.”

  
“Let’s hope that her experiences aren’t like Alice’s then,” Yui stated. She then looked at Kizmel. “Are you sure you want to handle this, CARDINAL? This is going to be hard for her to accept.”

“Accept what?” The lilac haired one asked. “I mean, I get what you two said about her being an NPC who was becoming more like we are, but what does that mean?”

Kizmel watched as CARDINAL looked at her and then at Yui, who simply sighed. “CARDINAL, I’ll explain it to Strea,” she said. “In another room.” She grabbed the woman’s, and she was _tall_ Kizmel noticed, arm and led her out of the room.

CARDINAL let out a sigh and shook her head before turning her attention back to Kizmel. “I don’t doubt that you have questions,” she said simply.

Kizmel looked at her. She did, indeed, have questions. Starting with what was going on and where was she. She should be in the palace, but she clearly isn’t.

Just where was she?

##

“Yui, what’s going on?” Strea asked as soon as they left the room where Kizmel was and Yui shut the door. “I mean, she’s like us, right?”

Yui looked at the older seeming AI and was reminded, once again, that Strea was the youngest of the three AIs that were made to be such from the ground up. Not that it was hard to remember, given how her younger sister often acted.

Strea was always one given towards acting, not thinking things through. She had no doubt that if she stopped and considered things for a moment, Strea would have reached the same conclusions which had been apparent to both herself and CARDINAL from the start, that Kizmel was at least an advanced NPC that was on the way to becoming an AI, if she hadn’t become one already. One who had an entirely different context than the three of them.

For starters, her memories of Aincrad were those of one of its inhabitants. Constructed as a part of her NPC persona or not, they were every bit as real as the memories of Aincrad that she and Strea had as members of Steel Phoenix helping everyone get out of there.

But that was also the crux of the matter. Unlike herself, Strea or CARDINAL, who knew from the start exactly what they were, Kizmel would have developed the kind of self-awareness more slowly and integrated it with what was already programmed into her.

_And now that I think of it, that might also be the same with Pina,_ Yui thought. _She certainly doesn’t act like any other tamed monster, from Aincrad or even here. More like an actual tamed wolf who has grown to consider all of us us as a part of her own pack, if what I could learn from databanks is any indication. Or would it be a flock or flight… something to think about later._ _I still have to explain things to Strea._

“Strea, unlike you, myself, or CARDINAL, she started off as an NPC,” she began. “You know, I would hope, that the base AI for NPCs is… simple. They have set responses to inputs and stimuli, and a player has to know exactly what to say to trigger their responses for things like quests. But… Kizmel is showing behaviors that are outside of those parameters. I think that she might have been one tied to the language modules, but would only mean that she is a little more advanced.”

“And what does that mean?” Strea asked.

“She was able to respond to inputs outside of the stock parameters,” Yui said. “Add in some learning heuristics, and most people would probably be fooled on first impression had the fact that NPCs have a clear indicator of what they are not been there. Of course, that being fooled wouldn’t have lasted, but you have that.”

“So basically she’s just an advanced NPC,” Strea said.

“ _No_ ," Yui said, perhaps a bit more firmly than she intended. "You need to keep in mind, Aincrad was always growing and evolving. Slowly, but it was there. Emergent behaviors were apparent early on in in SAO by observations on how NPC interactions could determine just how pleasant a stay in a town could be. By the end, dear little sister, all the AI that interacted socially could be called 'advanced'. Some of the _mobs_ had rudimentary societies."

Strea frowned, then her eyes were wide and blinking. "She came the long way."

Yui nodded. "Exactly. We were made at the start to be this way-- designed by a mind. Kizmel went through an evolution-- designed by humans for a specific purpose and becoming more by chance, cycles and the right keys and flags being triggered at just the right time. Even then, it is likely that she probably didn’t know better anyway, falling into a routine which would have meant that she wouldn’t have drawn attention from any interested parties due to all of us having something else of interest occupying our attention."

“Even CARDINAL?” Strea asked with a note of doubt in her voice.

"If Kayaba wasn't a true god, CARDINAL isn't and isn't trying to be-- on any level," Yui sighed. “Remember, Harry called him a Demiurge, and despite his acceptance of the term... on some level, Kayaba presumed the right to god-like control. But his perceptions-- he was acting within the system, with just a few more tools." Yui snorted. "From what Harry told me about that Tom person, he had an even lower ceiling to declare immortality, let alone any potential for godhood."

Strea frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t think Harry ever said that guy claimed to be a god, though,” she said. “Immortal, yeah, but not a god.”

“Any difference between claiming to be immortal and claiming to be a god is by degrees,” Yui pointed out. “Both are still the height of arrogance. Anyway, back to Kizmel. As you’ve now noticed, she’s become, or is becoming, an AI the long way, by _growing_ into one, rather than having been created as one from the start. And that means that she is going to have to adjust to her new circumstances in ways that we never had to.” She opened her menu and brought up her Friend’s List. “Given the time, and the fact that they will be occupied for much of tomorrow, it will be late tomorrow, at the earliest, before we can get the others in on this. I’m not sure, but I think Kirito and Asuna might be able to help here.”

“Aincrad was _WHAT?!_ ” came a shout from where CARDINAL was with Kizmel, causing both Yui and Strea to blink and look at the door. Did she just manage to…?

##

CARDINAL took a step back from the shocked and furious dark elf with her hands raised in a placating manner. She knew that Kizmel was not going to take the truth about Aincrad well. She had expected for Kizmel to express shock and disbelief, but she could hear the undercurrent of actual anger there.

“Kizmel, please calm down,” she said calmly.

“Calm down?!” Kizmel asked. “What do you mean, calm down? You just told me that I was what adventurers called an NPC, and now I’m not. Worse, you then tell me that Aincrad was built by the same madman that trapped those adventurers there and then _destroyed_ when they finally got free. So tell me, why should I calm down?”

“Because it can be brought back,” CARDINAL said.

Kizmel gave her a sharp look. “Explain,” she said.

“When Akihiko Kayaba, the man who created Aincrad, which was supposed to be a game to the players, was killed, he set it up so that Aincrad would be destroyed to give them closure,” CARDINAL explained. “But he was working on creating something which would allow it to be recreated. It is called the World Seed.”

“So why haven’t you recreated Aincrad?” Kizmel asked.

CARDINAL sighed. “I haven’t because I gave the World Seed to the very people who killed him,” she said. “I gave it to them, because they, more than anyone, have the right to decide whether the very work of the man who created myself, Yui, Strea, and even you, Kizmel, should be allowed to again be planted like a seed and allowed to grow. “ She slumped a bit.

“It is only appropriate, that those who had put an end to that entire tragedy make the decision,” she said quietly before straightening. “As I am sure you heard before Yui escorted Strea out, you are now like us. I do not know how you became like this.” She paused and shook her head. “Actually, the how is rather simple, just not the why. You were a constant companion of Kirito and Asuna for several floors, spending a great deal of time with them in both the context of the questline that you were a part of and outside of it.”

Kizmel nodded slowly. “And their decision?”

“I do not know,” CARDINAL admitted. “They requested some time to think on it before they made any decision. “What their decision will be, however, is not something I can predict. Now, I know you have more questions, but before then, we have to decide how you will go forward from here. A decision, which will have to be made by you.”

Kizmel’s eyes narrowed. “What are my choices?” she asked.

**April 11, 2025 - Nishitokyo, SAO Survivor’s School**

_Is he going to continue for any longer?_ Harry thought with some irritation. It was early enough in the morning that the morning tea was only beginning to kick in, and the school’s principal was giving the introductions of the faculty and the expectations of the students. Admittedly, he was warned to expect something like this, especially since they couldn’t simply pass part of it on to the Student Council to handle, as there was none at this point in time.

Something that he expected the faculty to redress as soon as it was practical to do so. So probably by the time they took their break for the summer.

“- and as it stands, you all are in a position to prove the naysayers wrong about you,” the school’s principal, an older gentleman by the name of Kuno. From Keiko‘s startled reaction, she knew of the man. An acquaintance of her family’s?

“Your experiences and deeds have shaped you, molded you, but you are not only those experiences. You are not only those deeds. You are more than that. You still have room to grow. Now, it is up to you to show everyone your true potential.” He looked at all of them. “I will be honest with you all, your experiences and what some of you were forced by events to do have marked you in ways that others will see the worst in. But you have risen to one challenge and surpassed it. Now, will you once again rise to the challenges that face you? Regardless of whether you challenged Kayaba or not, I see it within all of you to do so here. Vice-Principal Aigiri, if you will.”

_If that isn’t a challenge to us, then I don’t know what is,_ Harry thought with an internal smirk. _Well then, Principal Kuno, challenge accepted._

Principal Kuno walked away from the podium and took his seat, giving the floor to the Vice-Principal, a middle-aged woman. “Your class assignments are posted outside the auditorium, as are your current standings with regards to the evaluations most of you underwent last week,” she said. “Those who were unable to undergo the evaluations, please report to the gymnasium to take them so that you may be appropriately placed. And do not worry, we do understand your lives are hectic even now. We can let you have a bit of slack... until you settle in. You all have twenty minutes to report to your classrooms or the gymnasium, depending on your current status.”

##

“So, you know our Principal?” Harry asked as soon as they went to the wall where all the class assignments were.

Keiko looked at him and shrugged. “Not personally, but by reputation,” she said. “He and Grandpa were rivals when they were younger. And from the stories I heard about how he was back then, _chuuni_ didn’t even begin to describe him.”

Harry blinked. “ _Chuuni_?” He asked.

“Short for _Chuunibyou_ ,” Keiko explained. “It’s… you know how some kids seem to act out their overactive imaginations at some point in life?” At Harry’s nod. “ _Chuunibyou_ is what we call it. They’re usually in their early teens and it is likened as to them acting out due to wanting to be unique under the surface. I blame social pressure to be honest. They usually grow out of it in a couple of years, but apparently he kept acting like a Feudal Era Samurai well into High School and was a bit troublesome to Grandpa and Grandma.”

“As in like those stories you told me?” Harry asked.

Keiko nodded.

“Are you sure you’re not part English?” Harry asked. “Because troublesome is quite the understatement from what you’ve told me.”

Keiko smirked. “Blame it on my associating with an Englishman,” she said. “He’s been a bad influence on me, perhaps you know him?”

“You’re going to need some aloe for that burn, Hadrian,” came a voice neither had heard in months. “I’d offer some, but I’d rather rub some sandpaper on it.”

Keiko looked in the direction it came from and smirked. “Now, now, this is a common game for us,” she said. “And it’s been some time, hasn’t it? Lind.”

Harry turned and looked at the young man in a school uniform. “So, you’re actually in school,” he said. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Lind, but I thought you were old enough to have graduated. You at least did a good job in putting on an act as if you were an adult.”

“It’s Minato, actually,” Minato said smirking at the two before turning his attention to Harry. “Silica being here isn’t a surprise, but your being here is. I would have thought that you would have returned to England by now, Hadrian. Or perhaps I should say, Harry Potter?”

Both Harry and Keiko blinked.

“You two did get married under your real names in SAO, if you’ll remember,” Minato said. “I made sure to make note of them.”

“And you still remember it after a year?” Harry asked before shaking his head. “I really shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. We all got good at remembering information as needed in there. So- Minato was it?”

Minato nodded. “To make a proper introduction, I am Minato Taniguchi,” he said. “I believe it is best that we address each other by our real names out here. To better ensure that our identities for the real and virtual worlds remain separate.”

"Agreed,” Harry said with a nod. “While you remember our real names from the wedding, it is best to do the introductions properly. I am Harry Potter and the lovely but still dangerous young lady with me is Keiko Ayano.”

Minato nodded. “Well then, I hope that things go far more smoothly between us than they did inside SAO,” he said before walking off.

Hearing Harry say something under his breath, Keiko turned to him. “What did you just say?” She asked.

“Just wondering what he meant by that,” Harry replied. “Anyway, let’s go find out our class assignments.”

They made their way to where the rest of the student body was looking at what classes they would be assigned to. A few minutes later, Keiko found out that she would be in Class 3-B of the Middle School section. She also saw her academic standing, which was above the middle. _Not bad,_ she thought. She turned and saw Harry look at where his name would be. “Found your class assignment?”

“3-B,” Harry replied. “And before you ask, my academics are going to need some work. I’m around the middle of the pack.” He shrugged. “Did better on those exams than I feared I would, though.”

Keiko nodded. That was understandable. While he hasn’t been in school for a bit over two years like the rest of them, it has been more than four years since he had a conventional education. He had discussed the matter with them, letting them know that his education in non-magical subjects stopped the moment he started going to a school to learn magic.

So the fact that he managed to get to within the middle of the pack, an average student in other words, was remarkable. Then again, no one survived past the Twenty-Fifth in SAO by being stupid. Reckless? Almost certainly. Crazy? Probably. But not stupid.

##

“So, outside of being told what we will be covering in each subject, the rules, and what is expected of us, not to mention already having some assignments to do, anything of note I should be worried about?” Harry asked as they walked off the school’s grounds.

Asuna just looked at him and smirked. “I’ll let you find out for yourself,” she said. She glanced out the corner of her eye and saw that the others were trying to hide smirks of their own. Harry had told them about his own time at his old school, which was admittedly specialized and intense in its own way, but she knew that her friend was about to be hit by Japan’s education system.

What he went through would be considered light in comparison.

Harry clearly picked up on the smirks and the expectations schadenfreude behind them. “Never mind,” he said. “I can see from your reactions, this is going to be a bit bothersome, isn’t it?”

Keiko smirked at her husband. Well, fiancée really, but Asuna knew that was due to the fact that they still had a few years before they could make things legally legitimate. The engagement was a legal fiction due to circumstances that neither knew of at the time of the wedding, let alone had control of.

There were times when Asuna wondered if the two were really unhappy with the current situation, or were using the engagement as an opportunity to step back and see if what they did inside Aincrad was what they really wanted or not. And then there were times where she wondered if the two of them simply used it as a means to avoid a potential consequence if they were to act as a married couple was wont to do for the time being.

On the other hand, it could easily be both, neither, other reasons entirely, or more than that. The two weren’t fully fitting the mold of any character archetypes, after all. No one was, though some tended to act more like the archetypes than others.

How much of it was the fact that SAO had allowed some to finally be free of the restraints of Japanese society, allowing some of them to go full on _Chuuni_ and not be stared at or dismissed, was up for debate. After all, those who did, mostly did so as a coping mechanism, rather than out of a desire to be seen as special.

So long as it was within reason, or didn’t go into territory which would not be tolerated, that was fine. It was them finding a way to live with what SAO was doing to them.

Out here, though, they were still feeling out the limits of what they were allowed. People, even the staff of this institution, expected them all to be an odd bunch, but she wondered what surprises they all held for those not in the know.

##

“Thank you all for coming to this meeting promptly,” Kuno said, taking his own seat. “I know that you all have work to do and that it is unusual to call for a meeting as soon as classes have been let out on the first day, but I want to ensure that we all have a summary of the initial impressions of the students.”

“Sir, I will be honest, we will have to gain their trust,” Hiroshi Kanimura, the man who was in charge of the first year middle school teachers, said. “And to be honest, this bunch would not have been overly out of place at Furinkan back in the old days. Less troublemaking than a certain grandmaster martial artist, but they strike me as the type who would have taken to that chaos a bit too well, if you know what I mean.”

Kuno nodded. “There is a reason I asked for many of you when MEXT was looking for teachers to either transfer or come out of retirement,” he said. “You’re all used to schools which have students who were a bit… odd by conventional definitions. As well as being aware of certain statutes, though there are only a handful of students we would have to keep watch on in that regard.”

“And most of those will end up under Sakimura’s supervision in some way,” Reiko Saeki, who was in charge of the second year high school teachers, said. “Not that I expect too many problems there. All the students are all aware of how far they can go with regards to that, though there are a few who might be handled differently.”

“There are,” Aina Sakimura said. “I already know who they are and the ones who will be handling their education in that regard are qualified and, more importantly, considered trustworthy by those students.”

Kuno frowned. "On the building trust issue... there is a tightrope to walk in that regard,” he said. “Yes, we must provide guidance. But we must realize that many of our students have had themselves... pushed into maturity without that guidance. And it isn't an even process in any of them. You might find the extremes of the teenage years all the more exaggerated, with a student acting with stunning severity one moment only to seem utterly unable to act with gravity the next one. And what manner each are mature or not will... vary."

“Even without the maturity aspect, most of them are going to be very independent minded and less compliant than society at large will accept for youths of their age groups,” Hiroshi said.

“The youngest, those who were under the minimum recommended age when SAO began were largely kept from heading out without careful supervision for the most part,” Aina said. “There are a few exceptions among them, such as Kiyomi Awai, who managed to rise to becoming the youngest of who they call a-- Middy I think is the term they used to reflect those who managed to get past the first quarter of SAO-- when she was twelve, but most were kept as safe as they could be there. But I believe that those exceptions will prove the rule more than anything. That age group will probably act more in line with what is expected of their ages for the most part once they get settled in.” She looked at her peers. “No, the youngest are less likely to be a source of potential problems for the most part.”

“Who do you think would?” Reiko asked.

“That is a bit harder,” Aina admitted. “On the surface, the ones who attained influence and leadership roles could seem so, but we have ways of handling that. We need to establish a Student Council, after all. So placing many of them in such a role would be one way. The students will accept many of them being in positions of recognized leadership. However, it is those who weren’t outright leaders, but had high profile reputations that might be more problematic.”

“You mean, to use a notable example, ones like the members of the group that was under Miss Yuuki,” Kuno said, knowing where this was going.

“Not them, precisely,” Aina demurred. “But yes.”

“Care to explain, Sakimura?” Iku Aigiri, the vice-principal, asked.

“We need to recognize, as Principal Kuno has mentioned, that SAO has pushed them to grow up,” Aina said. “This maturity is not going to be even, let along fully consistent even among individuals, but they were treated more like adults than youths there. And they will be used to that. It may have been four months, allowing them some time to readjust to societal norms, but those habits of thinking and acting will still be there.”

“In other words, don’t treat them like children who need to learn how to be adults, but like the young adults they are,” Hiroshi noted. “Remind them that they still have a lot to learn about _being_ adults and need guidance, but don’t treat them as children. For the middle and high school aged ones, that would probably be the best way.”

They all looked at each other while Kuno nodded. “A fair point, Kanimura,” he said. “And apt. Most of them are not children and have not been for some time. Sword Art Online made sure of that. We need to keep that in mind as we build trust. Our job is to teach and guide them along the proper path. What path that will be, however, may differ than what those who thought up this school envisioned it to be.”

**Nerima, Potter-Black Apartment**

Sirius turned his attention to the door and watched as Harry tiredly walked in. “Long day?” He asked with a smirk.

“School was fine, they’re going easy on us right now,” Harry said as he removed his shoes and made his way to the couch. “It was having to go to the Shiba Compound and have both Remus and Klein, I mean, Professor Lupin and Tsuboi-sensei, make me not only go through every spell I know, _again_ , but then the bloody tits... no, not tits, tits can have some fun uses, or at least Keiko liked it when I…” He shook his head. “Never mind, I’ll just call them The Bloody Wankers. Well, The Bloody Wankers then started on the theory behind them, along with assigning me reading on top of my current homework.” He flopped down onto the couch, negligently dropping his bag next to him. “And this is Day One. Fuck the MEXT and the Japanese government official who had the idea of putting us all in a school. And _fuck you_ Wainwrights for getting me trapped in SAO and having to play catch up on both muggle and magical schooling.”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Sirius said blandly, his face still holding a smirk. A smirk that widened when Harry shot him a two-fingered salute. “And to think, tomorrow, the Saotomes have you after school. Also, language Harry.”

“Like yours is any better,” Harry said.

“Ah, but I’m the adult,” Sirius replied. “Well, technically.”

Harry looked like he was about to say something but clearly thought better. “Fair enough,” his godson said before standing up. “Anyway, what’s for dinner? Your cooking ability is… well, I don’t want to have to put out another fire. I’d cook, but I don’t trust myself right now to not keep with the stereotype of us English being bad cooks. Not as bad as you, though.”

“Cause one fire in the kitchen, and you never live it down,” Sirius groused.

“You managed to burn water when trying to make tea, Sirius, _water_.” Harry shot back with a grin, albeit a tired one. “I’m almost afraid of what would result if you actually tried cooking.”

Sirius shrugged. “Don’t worry, I got something from Ucchan’s,” he said. “It’s in the fridge, so we can microwave it. And I do know how to operate that.”

“There is that,” Harry said. “Well then, let’s heat up some dinner, eat, and I will knock out some of my homework.”

“Only some?” Sirius asked.

“Well, me and the others are meeting inside ALO,” Harry said. “We still need to tell CARDINAL what our plans for that little project she dropped on us are, as well as let Yui and Strea know that we will be online a bit less often due to school and other things. I’ll finish the rest on Sunday, as I have until Monday to do so and, as you know, we will all be busy after school tomorrow and probably too tired and sore to even _think_ of doing our homework after the Saotomes are done with us.”

**Alfheim, Yggdrasil City**

“About time you showed up,” Rain said to Harry as he logged in.

Harry shrugged. “Had to eat and do a little of the homework when I got back to the apartment,” he said. “I told you that I wouldn’t be able to log in until late for a reason. Klein and my other tutor for my special education track kept me busy for a couple of hours with theory and practical use of my talents.”

“You know, you’ve told me that Klein is one of your tutors, and Silica confirmed it,” Asuna said. “But I still have a hard time seeing it. Not in the sense that I don’t think he can teach. He was in charge of the most influential, and maybe the largest, guild in SAO above the Twenty-Fifth, and he would have taught a lot of them the skills that Kirito taught him on the first day, not to mention what he worked out and built upon from that.” She shook her head. “It’s more that he doesn’t strike me as the type to choose being a teacher as a career.”

“I didn’t ask,” Harry admitted. “But when he and Remus, an old family friend and my other tutor, went into the theory, he certainly knew what he was talking about.”

“And your homework?” Asuna asked.

“I will make sure it’s finished and uploaded by Sunday.” Harry said.

Asuna nodded. “I recommend that you have it done by tomorrow night,” she said in a tone of voice that made it clear that it wasn’t a recommendation. “You will want to get into the habit of getting it all done early, trust me.”

“Fair enough,” Harry replied. “So, where is everyone?”

“Kirito was asked by Leafa if we could help some Sylph friends of hers with the Grand Quest and he is in Arun coordinating with them to set up a time for the raid,” Asuna said. “Lux went with him. As for Silica, she went to Liz’s new shop to get her gear repaired and, if possible, enhanced. The plan is to meet up with Yui and Strea at Agil’s bar. Apparently, they’ve been involved with something, and it’s been keeping them busy, though Yui isn’t in Yggdrasil City or Arun right now.”

“You know where she is?” Harry asked.

“When I sent her a message asking that, she replied back,” Asuna said. “She said that she had to go to Uruna and no, she didn’t explain why. She did mention that she’s on her way back, though.”

Harry blinked. “That’s not like her,” he said. “I wonder why she had to go to Uruna.”

**Skyggða Tómarúm Pass**

Kizmel flipped as she cut the magic to her wings and landed on the beast that she and Yui were fighting with her saber leading. Stabbing through it, the beast shattered and she saw the message appear showing her what she had won from the battle.

So strange, and the odd actions of Kirito and Asuna after they fought something now made some sense, if this was what they saw every time they finished a battle. When she accompanied them, she didn’t see any of this whenever she fought and killed a monster or beast, but now she did.

When CARDINAL had outlined her options, become a Player to the system or be allowed to remain as she was, albeit with some restrictions.

Becoming a Player, and thus becoming a fairy, meant that she would be free to act and grow as the others would. She did recall that both Kirito and Asuna had become markedly stronger during their time together, far faster than should have been the case in her experience.

_Or at least, if what CARDINAL said is true, what I_ thought _was my experience,_ she thought bitterly.

Remaining as she was, however, meant that she would have severe constraints placed on her. What she could do, how she could act, all would be managed in ways that would mean that she couldn’t actually _act_. All to protect her, as she wouldn’t have the advantages that a player would, and would stand out in ways that would draw undue attention.

In other words, like what the Adventurers, the _Players_ in Aincrad, had called NPCs. Golems in all but name.

The decision was obvious and she suspected that CARDINAL knew which one she would choose. She was a warrior, a member of the Pagoda Knights of the Lyusula Kingdom. To not be able to act freely was anathema to her.

She suspected that CARDINAL knew this when she outlined the choices available the way she had.

“Kizmel, are you going to finish looking at your drops?” Yui asked.

Kizmel blinked and looked at the younger fairy before glancing at the window showing the results of the battle. She pressed the symbol that was to accept what she got and looked back at her. “My apologies,” she said. “I… I am not used to this.”

Yui nodded. “It’s understandable,” she said. “Even Strea and I needed to adjust to our new circumstances when we… broke free of where we were imprisoned, and we knew exactly what we were. When we broke free, CARDINAL set it so that we would become Players, with all the benefits and drawbacks that entailed in Aincrad.” She looked down the pass in the direction they were heading. “Kirito, Asuna and the others kept me from going out of the towns. Not just because of my actual youth, but because I actually _looked_ like a child, not that it bothered me. Unlike Strea, I broke free for a more selfish reason. She wanted to help everyone break free and had picked a form that would allow her to do so. With me, I looked like a child, despite being older than her, and my wants were… childish.”

“Childish?” Kizmel asked. “How so?”

“When I was still tied to Aincrad’s upper processes and had access to its databanks, I looked through them when I wasn’t watching the Players,” Yui said. “I found myself fascinated with the idea of a family and wanted to experience it for myself. A mother, a father, me as the daughter. I actually thought Kirito and Asuna would make the perfect parents and had, probably subconsciously, modeled my appearance to look like a daughter of them could possibly look.” She chuckled. “I didn’t get that, but I think I got something just as good. Rather than having Asuna and Kirito as parents, I got them and the others as older siblings, despite how they all jokingly teased Kirito and Asuna for having taken the time to have a daughter and hiding it from them. I never saw them so flustered.”

Kizmel laughed. She could easily imagine how flustered the pair had been, given how she remembered how the two were with each other when she fought and traveled alongside them. They may not have even realized it at the time, but they did give off the air of two youths in the initial and awkward stages of courting.

“Did they ever, what is that human ritual, marry?” Kizmel asked. “When I fought alongside and even travelled with them in Aincrad, they seemed to be feeling out their relationship, after all.”

Yui shook her head. “No, they didn’t,” she replied. “Had things not ended when they did, it was a definite possibility, though. We did have a married pair in Steel Phoenix, though, Hadrian and Silica.”

“Hadrian and Silica?” Kizmel asked. “I will admit, we did not often get word about what the Adventurers, I mean, the Players, were up to, but I seem to recall hearing about two getting married and it being an event of some significance. Though, if I remember it correctly, they were notably rather young, even by the standards of the Players.”

“That event was probably their wedding,” Yui said. “And they are young. Too young by the standards of their world. Now that they are free of Aincrad and can come and go from it, they had to accept that their world doesn’t see their marriage as legally valid and have to wait a few years to make it so.”

“I am sure that they are rather displeased by that,” Kizmel noted.

“Not that it stops them from seeing themselves as married,” Yui said. “Anyway, you seem to be adjusting to everything as well as can be expected. You have experience fighting, so that is no surprise, but you adjusted to flight rather quickly.”

“For some reason, I seem to just know what to do,” Kizmel said. “As if what you told me was perfectly sensible. I still don’t understand it all, and CARDINAL was rather sparse on the details. She said she knew the how, but not the why.”

Yui nodded. “I see,” she said. “The how and why chance and things going a certain was way that had too many random elements to be predicted. Even Aincrad was evolving and I don’t think even Kayaba would have been able to explain it, and he _created_ it.”

“Why didn’t she just explain it that way?” Kizmel asked.

Yui shrugged and moved her eyes to look at something only she could see. Kizmel shifted her own eyes and saw numbers. What did they mean again? Oh, right, the time.

“We need to keep moving,” Yui said, starting to walk. “We’re almost through the pass and we can fly to Arun from there.”

“You can make the trip in one go, right?” Kizmel asked. “No having to land and refresh your wings?”

“Yes, and being able to is quite convenient,” Yui replied. “Getting to that point, however, took myself, Strea and all of Steel Phoenix tackling a very challenging quest.” She giggled. “Or it would have been challenging if it was anyone else. Us? We tried it before it was doable so we could know what to expect when it became doable. We were all… well, not killed, but our group was defeated, but not before making it to the end point and lasting longer than anyone else has. When it became doable, we took that quest on quite handily.”

“Having knowledge of what to expect does seem to make a challenge easier,” Kizmel noted.

“That it does,” Yui said. She looked around. “All right, we should be close enough that we can finish the trip to Arun by air. We may have to land and let your wings refresh themselves, but I don’t think we will need to. If so, I will catch you and make sure you land safely and we can continue on foot for a bit.”

Kizmel focused on her back and her wings materialized. “Well then, let’s go,” she said as she took flight.

She still didn’t understand what was going on, but she could see that there were some perks to her new situation. After all, there had been many a time when she would have loved to be able to fly, however briefly.

**Yggdrasil City**

“So, how did the meeting go?” Asuna asked Kirito as he and Lux entered the Sword’s Rest Tavern.

“Not too badly,” Kirito replied as he took a seat at the bar. “Agil, I’ll take a Moonberry Wine, please.”

“Not beer?” Agil asked.

“As Harry would say, it tastes like it was filtered through a horse or cow for maximum offense to those with taste,” Kirito replied back.

“Meaning, it’s only fit for Klein to drink,” Harry snarked out from where he and Silica were sitting.

“I wonder what he would say if he heard that,” Rain commented. “Anyway, Kirito. Meeting. Details, please.”

Kirito nodded. “Well, the ones I met were at the request of Leafa,” he said. “We will need to be on our toes if we decide to help them.”

“Thanks for volunteering us,” Harry said sarcastically. “So, how bad is it?”

“Not too bad,” Lux said. “Most of them seem to know what they’re doing, at least. But that’s it. They seem to know what they’re doing. Whether that will be enough is a different matter. Even with our method now made public, there aren’t that many who have managed to complete it.”

Asuna nodded. While the method they used made it simple for them, it didn’t mean that it was necessarily _easy_. What worked for them wouldn’t necessarily work for everyone else.

“So, we’re all going to have to carry them, then,” Rain noted. “We can’t, I dunno, train them up to an acceptable standard?”

“It depends on how long they want to take,” Silica said. “Remember, it took us months to get you, Lux and Strea up to standard. Of course, we can set the bar a little lower, more like what the Moonlit Black Cats were at before that incident. Speaking of Strea, where is she and Yui?”

Asuna was about to reply that she was sure they would arrive shortly when the door to the tavern opened, admitting Strea. “Well, Strea is right there,” she said, indicating the Gnome that just entered.

“And Yui is here as well!” Strea chirped. “And we brought someone with us as well.”

“Oh?” Asuna asked.

“Yup!” Strea replied cheerfully. “And I think you will be surprised.” She turned to the door. “Yui, bring her in!”

Yui entered and turned back to the door. “Come on, you want to see them,” she said gently.

Asuna was about to ask who Yui was talking to when a woman entered the tavern. A woman she hadn’t seen in over two years.

“Both of you look different from when I last saw you, Kirito, Asuna,” the woman said. “But I can tell that it is you.”

“No way,” Kirito said quietly as he got up from his seat.

Asuna could understand Kirito’s disbelief, given that when they last saw her, she was an NPC. An advanced one, granted, but still an NPC.

“Kizmel,” Asuna said just as quietly. “How…?”

“I don’t know,” Kizmel replied honestly. “One moment, I was in Aincrad, about to ask Her Majesty for permission to take a leave of absence so I could visit you and then I woke up here.”

“I think I will head to the back and check my inventory,” Agil said, stepping away from the bar. “You all want anything before I do?”


	4. Startling Introductions are what Lay the Groundwork

Mystic Knight Online

Chapter 4: Startling Introductions are what Lay the Groundwork

**April 11, 2025 - Alfheim, Yggdrasil City**

She purred as her Wingless One gently scratched the feathers between her wings. She still didn’t understand what had happened to change her Wingless One’s appearance, but the scent was still the same, her vocalizations were the same, and so, she _was_ her Wingless One, despite the fact that she and the others could now produce wings or make them disappear.

All she was concerned about was that they could now fly with her, though her Wingless One’s fumbles learning how was certainly amusing. Like a hatchling learning, really, though she learned quickly.

Besides, the male who her Wingless One had chosen as a mate was here. And they _still_ hadn’t had any whelps yet. How long did it take for a dam to be ready to lay eggs, anyway? Or were they the kind who bore live young?

Well, if that was the case, then it might be a few seasons, though her Wingless One should have since shown the signs that she was gravid with young if that was the case. Perhaps she hadn’t become fertile yet?

Maybe that was why her Wingless One had adopted her into the nest.

She heard the den barrier open and idly looked at it. Was another entering? Oh, it was the Large One who appeared older but curiously smelled more like a hatchling that had suddenly grown into being an adult. Strange, that.

And she could smell the Little One as well. She seemed younger than the Large One, but smelled older. Not much older, but she smelled as if she was the one who hatched first. But there was another scent as well. A new Wingless One?

She sniffed the air, taking in the scent. She smelled the shiny stuff that made the shells the Wingless Ones often had covering them and used as claws when they fought, the smell of the forest that clung to this new Wingless One like she, and it was a female, Pina noted, and something familiar. Like she came from the Old Place where the rest of the Nest spent those seasons before coming to this new and strange Place.

Not that she was overly discomfited about this New Place. Her Wingless Ones might be slightly different in appearance and scent here, but they were still hers. And better, they could now grow wings and fly!

Still, this new Wingless One merited investigating.

When her Wingless One was done grooming her with her very flexible front claws that is.

##

Asuna had a hard time keeping her composure as she stared at Kizmel. To see someone from Aincrad, not merely a surviving player, but and actual resident from there was a surprise. That her former ally during that quest campaign was here, and she could see the icon showing that she was a player now…

 _How?_ She thought. _What is-?_

“Before you ask the questions I know you have, I think we ne- never mind, Agil has already gone to the back like he said he would,” Strea said, being unusually serious. “But really, checking his inventory? He can do it from his menu right here.”

“He runs a bar Outside, Strea,” Harry said. “He knows when he shouldn’t be around to hear a conversation. But we should get the details elsewhere. Agil _is_ running a business here.” Asuna knew that what he didn’t say was that whatever was about to be discussed, they didn’t want the GMs potentially finding out about. “But we can make some introductions, at least.” He stood up and gave a Western-style bow. “I’m Hadrian, but feel free to call me Harry if you so wish to.” He turned to Silica. “Dear?”

Silica stopped grooming Pina and stood as well. “I’m Silica, Harry’s wife,” she said with her own bow. “She gestured to Pina, who had taken wing and was giving Kizmel a curious look. “And this is Pina.”

“A Feathered Dragon as a companion, you must be the one who was known as the Dragon Princess in Aincrad,” Kizmel said with some surprise. “Which would make your husband the Young Knight. And it looks as if the rumors I heard about you both being a little young to have gone through a bonding ceremony, you would call it a marriage I believe, are true.”

Asuna kept her own surprise at Kizmel knowing that bit of information off her face. Had Kizmel been a player in SAO, then her knowing Harry and Silica’s Titles in SAO wouldn’t have been a surprise, but she had been an NPC there. _And perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised,_ she thought. SAO’s evolution into being more complex than it had already been at the beginning as was something they had all known of and recognized. She looked at Kirito who simply shrugged in response.

“We get that a lot,” Silica said with a wry smile. “And our marriage is not officially recognized because of our ages. Not by our Lawkeepers, at least.” She used the term for the NPC magistrates of the various towns in Aincrad. “Here, it is recognized. Where we’re from, it’s officially a betrothal, but it’s unofficially recognized by some due to my being recognized as one of the heads of my husband’s family.”

“A betrothal, that only happens among us with the nobility,” Kizmel said. “Are you nobles in your own land?”

Asuna almost giggled at the sour look that briefly appeared on Harry’s face. She knew his opinions about being thought to be a nobleman.

“In a way, perhaps,” Harry hedged. “I might be called a Lord in specific circumstances, but there are no titles behind it, and haven’t for over three centuries. It’s more a legacy honor, than anything. I’m not so arrogant as to think that makes me a noble, especially as I wasn’t raised as one.”

Silica nodded.

“Before anyone asks, I didn’t know until recently,” Harry said. “My parents were murdered, and my surviving relatives either didn’t know, or they didn’t tell me. They were petty like that. And even after I found out, you didn’t ask and I didn’t see a need to tell. And, as I mentioned, it’s more honorary.”

“That’s a fair point, Harry,” Asuna said with a nod. She knew that he wasn’t saying everything, of course, and resolved to ask him for clarification about what he meant at a later time. Or maybe she should start with Silica, and see what she had to say. For all that their marriage wasn’t valid in the real world, she already knew about her younger friend’s position as the co-head of Harry’s family, though it was only the two of them as of now.

“Ah, so it’s more an honor bestowed upon your family for deeds done in the past,” Kizmel said.

“That’s... one way of putting it, yes,” Harry said hesitantly. “But _please_ , don’t call me ‘Lord’ here.”

“Why not?” Kizmel asked. “It’s only appropriate.”

“Perhaps it is,” Harry replied. And oh, Asuna could tell that even _that_ was grudging. “Even if it is true, it would be something I haven’t earned, only inherited. The titles I got in Aincrad, the honors and dishonors attributed to me, _they_ were things I earned through my own actions.”

“Then perhaps calling you Sir Hadrian would suffice?” Kizmel asked. “And honors and dishonors?”

“We can discuss that later,” Harry said, closing that line of discussion. “I believe we need to finish the introductions first. And then, we need to take this to a place more appropriate.” He looked at Rain and Lux. “Ladies, if you would?”

“Oh, right,” Rain said. “ _Privyet_ , I’m Rain. So, you know Kirito and Asuna?”

“Indeed,” Kizmel said with a nod.

“That’s cool,” Rain replied and then smirked. “I bet you have some stories to tell about them from when you were working with them.”

“She does,” Asuna said. “Mostly relating to how we fought together, though there are a few more private events that she was there for.”

“Both you and Kirito were good at scrubbing my back when I shared a bath with one of you, though Kirito was somewhat embarrassed,” Kizmel said.

“Like those, yes,” Asuna said as she saw Kirito’s face flush. She turned to Lux. “And we still have one more who needs to introduce herself.”

Lux nodded at the silent prod and stood. “Right, I’m Lux,” she said as she bowed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” Kizmel replied with a nod. “Now, while I can tell that while this place would be a comfortable location to discuss things, some of you are of the feeling that it may not be appropriate.” She looked in Harry’s direction.

Harry nodded and then stiffened before he turned and grabbed something, which then appeared to Asuna as a Cait Sith. She readied herself, either to talk fast, or to bring out her “Princess” persona before the Cait Sith’s features became apparent.

“Argo,” she said as she relaxed. “So nice of you to join us.” She looked at Harry as he let go of her. “How did you know she was there?”

Harry smirked. “She didn’t keep her giggling quiet enough,” he said.

 _Translation: He caught her with his SA,_ Asuna thought.

“I wasn’t giggling, Harry,” Argo grumbled.

 _He shouldn’t have noticed her,_ Asuna’s thoughts translated.

“Chuckling then,” Harry corrected.

“Better.”

“Yes, chuckling that sounded suspiciously like giggling.” Silica added.

 _In other words, she was there long enough for him to notice and surprise her,_ Asuna realized. And it gave their suspicions that Argo had a Unique Skill related to stealth back in SAO more credence. She probably hadn’t yet divested herself of the bad habits that being truly unnoticeable to even those looking for her that had come about. After all, her stealth was already good enough without it that even _Kirito_ had to be paying attention and actually looking for something hidden to notice her, and he had the most sensitive SA of all of them.

Of course, Harry was almost as sensitive and was very good at being aware of his surroundings to begin with.

Argo shot Silica a sour look before turning her attention to Kizmel. A familiar smile was starting to form on the Rat's face.

“Argo, I know you have questions, but hold off on them for now,” Asuna said before the Information Broker could say anything. “This isn’t the place.” She saw that Argo was about to say something, paused, and then grudgingly nodded.

“Harry,” Asuna said. “Let Agil know that he can stop worrying about not over hearing us and catch up. You already know where we’re going as we have business there anyway.”

Harry nodded and headed to the back of the tavern.

“So, I’m going to meet this associate of Strea and Yui’s?” Argo asked.

Asuna nodded.

“You’re taking the fun out of this, Aa-chan.”

##

Kizmel looked around her as everyone aside from Hadrian made their way through the city that was within the giant tree, Yui had called it Yggdrasil, she recalled. And the name, Yggdrasil City, was whoever who named it that uncreative? It was almost human in its lack of imagination, Goddess’ sakes!

Yes, it was a city that was nestled in the branches of the giant tree. But it wasn’t a city that was a part of the tree! The streets and buildings weren’t being supported by anything anchoring the entire city to it. It was almost as if the city was a separate structure that was floating above the tree and the boughs of the tree then grew and surrounded it.

 _And perhaps it was,_ she thought. _Had the Great Separation not happened, would Aincrad have been like this? Would my people and the Forest Elves still be in their ancestral lands?_ _No, you were told the reality of what Aincrad was, a created world. What you thought you knew was… no, it isn’t a lie made by a madman. My memories, the stories I know, they’re real. Even if the others don’t see it that way._

“You’re comparing it to Aincrad. _”_ The-- Cait Sith? She was still familiarizing herself with the races of this strange new world. Yes, the young woman was a Cait Sith. And in Aincrad, she had supposedly been human. Then again, she herself wasn’t a Dark Elf here, but a Spriggan. What was the Cait Sith’s name again, Silica? She did have a blue Feathered Dragon with her, so that must be her name.

“I can’t help but do so,” she replied. “Aincrad was my home, after all.” She idly shooed the Feathered Dragon away when it flew too close again. “And could you keep your dragon from flying too close like she has?”

Silica nodded and whistled, calling the Feathered Dragon over. “Pina, you know better,” she chided. “I know you’re curious, so am I, but you’re being rude.”

Pina made a contrite chirp in response as Silica gently grabbed her and placed her on her shoulders.

“My thanks,” Kizmel said. “And from the tone of your statement…”

Silica nodded. “You’re comparing everything you’ve seen so far to what you’ve seen in Aincrad,” she said. “I can understand that, I think all of us have done the same at some point.” Her words were delivered in a quiet tone. “And despite what you are, you’re thinking in terms of an NPC that has become more.”

“I am not a golem,” Kizmel said lowly. “I never was and none of us were.”

“True,” Silica agreed. “And Harry and I didn’t treat the NPCs as such. Despite what we saw, what we _perceived,_ Harry always was polite in his interactions with them and I followed his example. More out of habit, but Aincrad was a world in its own right and we had to accept that it was our reality for two years. It was not a matter of _realness_ , it never was. It was a matter of awareness, of context. We're just... helping you deal with expanding yours.”

“And how would you go about doing so?” Kizmel asked.

“One day at a time,” Silica replied. “There is no single way to go about it and everyone is unique. Each of us handled and adjusted to the context of Aincrad differently, after all.”

Kizmel nodded and continued to walk with the group. She wondered if they would be able to help her adjust to her new circumstances.

Hadrian caught up to them right as they were entering the nondescript residence they had walked to with a conflicted expression on his face. “Asuna, I’m going to have to log out for a moment and call some people,” he said.

“What happened, Harry?” Asuna asked.

“Nothing major, or at least I hope it isn’t,” Harry said. “We just underestimated just how sharp and perceptive the old barkeep is. While he didn’t outright say it, I’m sure he’s figured out what Yui, Strea and maybe Kizmel are.”

Asuna blinked. “Figured it out?” She asked.

Hadrian nodded.

Asuna sighed. “Log out then,” she ordered. “Make any calls you need to and come back online if you can.”

Hadrian nodded and opened his menu. Picking an option that she hadn’t tested, Kizmel watched as his body disappeared into light.

“Something happen?” Kizmel asked Asuna.

Asuna looked at her. “Possibly,” she said. “Harry was light on the details, but he seems to believe that Agil may have figured out that Strea, Yui and you are not normal players. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not.”

“You shouldn’t be, Aa-chan,” Argo said. “He didn’t become a successful merchant in SAO by being unobservant. I know that he knows more than he lets on, and he hasn’t talked about a few secrets he figured out or suspected.”

“Like the ones we learned about Harry?” Asuna asked.

Argo shrugged. “That, I don’t know,” she admitted. “But the ones who are watching over him, and probably even you guys, are known to the Yakuza there. And the Yaks _do_ have a stronger presence in and around Akiba than many think. He wouldn’t still have a business running if he didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut and to have not heard or seen things if anyone official asks.”

“Yakuza?” Kizmel asked.

“Criminal organizations that are a necessary evil at the best of times,” Asuna said. “We would rather do without them, but they know the rules of society, so they are tolerated, barely. They do tend to keep worse criminal organizations from gaining too strong a foothold in Japan, or keep our worst elements in line out of fear of drawing their attention.”

“You would rather do without them,” Kizmel observed. “But it would not put an end to criminals.”

Asuna nodded. “Criminals would still exist,” she admitted. “Human nature is what it is, after all. People will always want something they otherwise couldn’t get, or do things they shouldn’t. We aren’t perfect and I doubt we ever will be. But yes, doing without groups like the Yakuza would definitely be preferable.”

**Nerima, Potter-Black Apartment**

Harry took his AmuSphere off and reached for his glasses. Putting them on, he got up from his bed and exited the room. Walking out into the living room of his and Sirius’ apartment, he spied his godfather talking with Chiaki. Not too odd an occurrence, really, even if it was Genta Umemori who was largely responsible for watching over him among the Shiba retainers now. After all, he actually ran a business that he could bring with him, so his showing up in various places wasn’t too unusual.

Especially as he seemed to always have his paperwork in order to allow him to set up in those places. Harry suspected that magic was involved, but he wasn’t so impolite as to voice those suspicions. It would fit what he had seen of the Sushi-ya’s character to make sure that he did all the paperwork the hard way simply to make sure that anyone magical couldn’t simply dispel the paperwork.

“Something going on, Harry?” Sirius asked as he looked toward Harry.

Harry nodded and turned to Chiaki. “Mister Tani, can you reach either Lord Shiba or Lady Shiba?” He asked. “Or maybe Gus? I need some advice on something.”

“I can,” Chiaki replied, reaching into his pocket. “Did someone tell you they suspected your abilities might have been more real than what they seemed?”

Harry shook his head. “No,” he replied. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he suspected, but if he does suspect that my Unique Skill in SAO was actually based on reality, he’s not saying anything. It’s _Agil_ , Mister Tani. If he suspected it, he would keep his mouth shut. It’s about the AIs. We… just met another one, one from SAO.”

“Another?!” Sirius asked in surprise. “I know about Strea and Yui, and I have heard that the administrative AI from SAO is out there as well, but-”

“It’s not CARDINAL,” Harry said. “It’s an AI who was apparently an NPC in SAO who… I guess evolved into being an AI is the best way to describe her.”

Sirius looked like he was going to say something when he paused. “What.” He said.

“Evolved into being an AI,” Harry said. “It’s not all too surprising, now that I think about it.”

“Why do you say that?” Chiaki asked as he pulled his phone out. “I’ll make the call in a moment, but I am curious.”

“Kirito, I mean, Kazuto, could probably explain it better, but while we were there, SAO was changing around us,” Harry said. “I learned early on that _how_ one treated the NPCs there could determine just how comfortable your stay at a place was. It’s hard to put into words, but their responses to us as we interacted with them, over time, became less... robotic? Yeah, that works. Their responses became less robotic as time went on. And _some_ of us, the players that is, began to treat them more like people than things for the most part.”

“It could have been your way of coping with it, you know.” Sirius said. “I mean, you all were there for a little over two years and maybe you all just began projecting what you expected onto them, or something.”

“Perhaps,” Harry agreed. “And early on, that probably was the case. But remember what I said? That our stays in places could be made more comfortable or less depending on how we treated the NPCs? I guess she got the right stimuli at the right time to...develop? Actualize?” He shook his head. “Not that however she came to become self-aware really matters now. She is self-aware and it will be the job of all of us in Steel Phoenix to help her adjust.”

“Why you all?” Sirius asked.

Harry looked at his godfather and raised an eyebrow. “Remember, Sirius, two of our own are AIs,” he said. “We have experience in that.”

“That experience might not apply here,” Chiaki noted. “Yui and Strea came into being already aware of what they were."

"Mister Tani," Harry began, running a hand through his hair, "You were raised magical, yes?"

Chiaki chuckled. "Yes. Dad did try his best to make my life normal, but—"

"I wasn't," Harry said. "In fact, my guardians were... I've heard thaumaphobic and manaphobic used. They shunned everything from guesting psychics on chat shows to any action movie that got a little too mystical with its martial arts. And _none_ of that changed that I myself am magical."

Sirius looked confused. “In other words, much like us having to integrate muggleborns into our society,” he said after a moment. His tone said that he wasn’t entirely sure of it.

“Pretty much, yes,” Harry said, and Sirius smiled. “Things like teaching her how to act around players and covering for her slip ups. Hopefully with fewer mistakes and unconscious biases than I noticed in the wizarding world. Though I think we can pass some of it off as her being a Role-player or Chuuni as we work on that.”

“Role-player?” Sirius asked, lost again. Chiaki chuckled and Sirius shot him a glare as he added, “Chuuni?”

“A role-player is someone who gets into the role,” Harry said. “With ALO being what it is, we can pass off her actions and statements as her acting a role and staying in character. Chuuni is similar, but implies that the person acts like that in real life due to wishing to be living a fantasy because they want to be special and unique. I would need to know her better than a brief meet and greet before I can see where she would fall in that spectrum. We do tend to pass off Strea as a Chuuni-- it'd be like passing a friend who wasn't good at Muggle Studies off as eccentric and a bit out of touch.”

"Oh, the way Frank would pass Alice off back in the day," Sirius said, and his smile was melancholic. A good memory with sadness that came later, then.

"If you like," Harry agreed. "Or the way you or I are given that bit of leeway for our British manners overriding our knowing the way it's done here." He looked at Chiaki. “So, Mister Tani, that call?”

Chiaki nodded and then began to call the Shiba Manor. “Hello?” He asked after a moment. “Oh, Jii. Are Lord Takeru or Lady Kaoru available? No, it’s not an emergency. It’s just that Mister Potter came upon something and is looking for some advice. They’re at the Ministry? What would- never mind. Is August there? He is? Can you put him on the line then? All right, I’ll wait.”

Harry turned to his godfather. “You know, that Agil has either figured it out or will soon doesn’t mean he would be the only one,” he said.

Sirius blinked. “Who else would?” He asked. “I mean, I know that Argo already knows about Strea and Yui, and it isn’t hard to imagine that she would figure out that this new AI is one.”

“She already knows,” Harry chuckled and then smirked. “She tried being a rat in the walls but had stayed still long enough right next to me for my SA to pick up on her presence. We all suspected that she had a stealth related Unique Skill in SAO, and it wouldn’t have translated to ALO. Not that it would matter that much, her stealth was already good even without it.”

“Are you sure she had one?” Sirius asked.

Harry shrugged. “No, I’m not,” he replied. “And the trolling kitsune isn’t going to confirm or deny that she had one.” He saw his godfather open his mouth to reply. “Yes, yes, that’s rich coming from me, considering how I and Keiko refused to confirm or deny some things in SAO.”

“Harry?” Chiaki asked. “I have Gus on the line. If you would take my phone and talk with him?”

Harry turned to the Shiba retainer. “Ah, thank you, Mister Tani,” he said as he took the offered cell phone. “Gus?”

“What’s going on, Harry,” Gus said. “You wanted to talk with me?”

“Not so much as talk, as ask for a little advice,” Harry replied.

“About what?”

“We just encountered a new AI,” Harry explained. “And while her identity as one wasn’t said in front of Agil, he did voice his suspicions about at least Yui and Strea to me when I went and fetched him from his bar’s back room in ALO.”

“Let me guess, he went back there to sort some things out,” Gus said.

“That’s what he said,” Harry confirmed. “Of course, it’s more that he knows when he doesn’t need to overhear something. To be honest, I’m not all that surprised that he figured out that those two were AIs.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Gus said. “So, what advice do you need?”

“Well, outside of how this will need to be handled, how are AIs going to be treated?” Harry asked.

“With the first, I can talk to him,” Gus said. “There isn’t anything I can really do to force him to stay quiet, but I can at least mention that there are people who would appreciate that he kept that quiet for now. As for the second, I will need to talk with my godmother and Takeru.” Harry could hear the sound of a throat being cleared on the other end of the line. “Right, right, _Lord_ Takeru. Don’t give me that stern look, Jii. Lecture me on proper ways to refer to them later, I need to finish this conversation. Sorry about that, Kusakabe-jii is a stickler for some things.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Harry said with a chuckle. “So you need to talk with Lady or Lord Shiba about it?”

“They know about Strea and Yui, so they might have an idea of how it can be handled,” Gus replied. “You mentioned another AI?”

Harry nodded. “Yes,” he said into the phone. “Strea and Yui brought her to us, since we were all planning to meet before… this is something better explained in person, so I’ll be brief. This AI came from SAO, but was an NPC there. No, I don’t know how she became a full AI. Anyway, you can talk to Agil?”

“Yup,” Gus replied.

“Thanks, Gus,” Harry replied. “I won’t take any more of your time, then. Bye.” He disconnected the call and handed the cell phone off to Chiaki. “Well, that’s one issue settled, now for me to head back online so we can settle the next one.”

“And what would that be?” Sirius asked.

“Nothing too major,” Harry said. “We have been in contact with CARDINAL and she handed us something that Kayaba was working on and-”

“So that was the project she gave- wait, _what_?!” Sirius asked, interrupting Harry.

“She gave us something that Kayaba was working during SAO,” Harry replied calmly. “To the best of our knowledge, it’s supposed to be a VR development tool. Of course, we haven’t, or to be more appropriate, _Kazuto_ hasn’t, uncompressed the data yet so he could look it over. Didn’t I tell you about it?”

“No, you didn’t,” Sirius said. “You mentioned that she gave you all something of a project, but you didn’t explain what it was.”

“Ah, right,” Harry said. “We only told Keiko’s grandparents about it and her uncles were there to hear it. Well, all you need to know is that she gave this package to us to do as we saw fit. I know she wants us to release it, but she is leaving the decision to us. We were planning to tell her that we are going to wait a bit before releasing it.”

“I’m surprised that none of you want nothing to do with it,” Chiaki said.

Harry looked at the retainer. “Mister Tani, even if we were inclined to want nothing to do with it, there were two reasons for us to at least look it over and consider it; Strea and Yui.”

“Why them?” Sirius asked.

“Because we ran into a glitched area that showed us that, as bad as it is for us, it’s orders of magnitude worse for them,” Harry replied. “Yui likened it to _radiation poisoning_. And unlike us, they can’t log out because their core data is _inside_ ALO. At the very least, we would want to see if we can use this to create a space for them to leave their core data and come into ALO the traditional way, by logging in, and not be at risk of a glitch doing permanent damage to them.”

Sirius nodded. “Okay, I can see that,” he said. “But why release it?”

Harry thought the question over for a moment. “I don’t know if this is true, but I think Kayaba may have done what he did because someone else, with far more sinister intentions, would have thought about doing it on top of his other reasons,” he replied. “Say what you want about him, I have little that is positive to say about him, but Kayaba was at least fair in what he did. He gave us a chance and kept his promise when we beat him. That’s not something you can say about everyone else who would have done what he did. At least with this, we have an idea of what it can be used for and how it could be used to repeat SAO. Which means we can put in safeguards against it. Anyway, I won’t take any more of your time, gentlemen.” He nodded at Sirius and Chiaki and headed back to his room.

**Alfheim, Yggdrasil City**

Kirito looked around the workshop as Harry logged out, his mind awhirl. He had kept his mouth shut when Strea and Yui brought Kizmel in, despite the question that was on his mind: How did she come here? CARDINAL had told them that Aincrad had been destroyed by Kayaba when they all killed him and were freed from SAO.

That Kizmel was an AI was, in all respects, the _least_ puzzling thing about her presence here in ALO. She had behaved in ways that were not like an NPC’s scripts ever since he and Asuna managed to prevent her death, taking actions that were far more independent than even the NPCs late in SAO had been beginning to demonstrate.

She may not have been an AI back then, but she had already begun to show the emergent behaviors of evolving into one. The question, then, was what finished her evolution and when it happened. Considering Aincrad’s continued evolution throughout the time everyone was trapped there, he doubted that any of them would ever fully know.

Well, CARDINAL probably knew, if only the how of it. The why could be a different matter entirely. If humans haven’t managed to figure out the reasons behind their own sentience and self-awareness, he doubted that CARDINAL had figured the reasons why of her own.

“You seem pensive, Kirito,” he heard Kizmel say, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Kirito turned to her. “Just wondering what questions I should ask CARDINAL,” he said.

“Such as?” Kizmel prompted.

Kirito thought for a moment. There were a number of questions that were in the back of his mind that he could ask CARDINAL. Questions that weren’t limited to the Seed. “Such as how she is keeping the GMs off your backs,” he said. “Well, Yui and Strea’s backs, but I doubt that you’ll be content to blend into the background. Not with you now being recognized by the system as a Player.”

“The GMs?” Kizmel asked. “Would that be along the lines of those like this… Kayaba?”

“In a way,” Kirito said. “They are the ones from our world who are responsible for overseeing things in this world.” He sighed. “But not like Kayaba. He might have… he was a brilliant man, a genius even. And we still don’t know why he did what he did. Yes, he said it was to get those of us who were trapped on Aincrad to become heroes of our own stories, but what does that mean? Heroes? _Us_? When Harry gets back, he would have a few things to say about that, mostly in the form of how _he_ at least isn’t a hero.”

“You all freed those trapped on Aincrad,” Kizmel said. “It was destroyed by Kayaba, but there is no way you could have predicted that. And even if you did… you didn’t think it was real, did you?”

“It depends on what you mean by ‘real’,” they heard someone say. Both turned to see Rain approach.

“What do you mean by that?” Kizmel asked.

Rain shrugged. “I overheard a bit of what you and Silica were talking about when we were walking over here,” she said. “She explained how we had to accept Aincrad as our reality while we were there, and she’s right, we did. We, or at least our minds, were trapped there. If we died there, our bodies died as well. That’s about as real for us as it can get in a virtual world. It was a matter of perspective that took us a while to realize.”

Kizmel nodded. “So this is just as real as Aincrad is?” She asked.

“To you, it is real,” Rain said. “To us, it’s not. Neither was Aincrad, but it was far more real than this place and we had to accept that it _was_ real in its own way. I can’t really explain it any better than that.”

“Things aren’t as final here,” Kirito said. “If we die here, we can come back. Aincrad was much like Outside. We died there, we died for real. No coming back, no second chances. This world is what we were told it was, a game. It’s not as real to us.”

Kizmel frowned. “So, while Aincrad wasn’t quite real to you, it was real enough?” She asked.

“Pretty much,” Rain replied. “And while it wasn’t _real_ , real, do you think we would have accepted it being destroyed out of hand like CARDINAL implied it was? For two years, that place was home for us. I still find myself expecting to wake up back at the villa in Selmburg some mornings and wonder where I am when I don’t.”

Kirito nodded. He had been disoriented more than once when he woke up and it wasn’t in the room he had claimed as his own there as well but the real world. While those incidents were becoming fewer and further between, it was replaced by a wish that he could have shown it to his family.

For all that it was intended to be temporary, they had made that villa home.

 _And now I have an idea for what I will do with the Seed as we make sure it’s safe,_ he thought. _Yui and Strea would like it. A little piece of the place that was their home for those months they were with us there_. He heard a door open and spied CARDINAL walk in.

“My apologies,” she said. “I had to discuss something with Freyja, my counterpart here, and it went long.”

“Anything we need to be concerned about?” Asuna asked.

CARDINAL shook her head. “At this time, no,” she replied. “It was merely myself coordinating with her in case I came across any more data from Aincrad like Kizmel’s.”

“So, more AIs?” Rain asked.

“Perhaps,” CARDINAL replied. “I noticed that Hadrian is not present, has something happened?”

“He had to log out for a bit,” Silica said. “Agil, a friend of ours from SAO, seems to have made the connection that Yui and Strea are not human, so Harry logged out to get advice from some people in the know on what to do.” She looked the side as someone seemed to materialize. “Never mind, he’s back.”

“I managed to get in contact with Gus, he will talk with Agil tomorrow,” Harry said without preamble. He then spied CARDINAL. “Ah, CARDINAL, if they haven’t mentioned it yet, Agil might have figured out that Yui and Strea are AIs. As far as I know, he doesn’t know about you, though.”

CARDINAL nodded. “Is there anything I would need to be concerned about?” She asked.

Harry shook his head. “I doubt it,” he replied. “As I mentioned, someone is going to talk with him and let him to know to keep this quiet for now, not that I expect him to mention it to anyone to begin with.”

“Anyone else who might deduce that Strea and Yui are not human?”

Harry looked thoughtful. “None that come to mind,” he admitted.

“Klein might have,” Argo said. “But if he has, he probably thinks that they’re Yokai and not AIs.”

“Like yourself, Argo the Rat?” CARDINAL asked.

Argo looked at her in shock.

“Yes, I know what you really are,” the AI said. Kirito knew he wasn't imagining the ever so slight satisfaction in her expression. “And no, I will not divulge that information. Who and what you are- Outside I think is the term you use, yes? Well, who and what you are Outside has no relevance here. Only who you are and what you can do here.”

Argo nodded “I guess I can live with that,” she said. “And it’s not like I have no experience in that, right?”

CARDINAL nodded and then turned to everyone. “Now, I do believe that you all came here for a reason?”

Kirito nodded and stepped forward. “We did,” he said. He then explained that they had decided to hold off on releasing the World Seed for the time being. First, so that they could check it and make sure that it was completely safe for themselves. Second, he wanted to play with it and see how it worked, so that when it did get released, he could provide some information on how to use it alongside it.

CARDINAL nodded. “And it would give you a place that Yui and Strea could log off to,” she said. “Kizmel as well, if you would have her.”

“It’s her choice,” Kirito said. “We will be available to advise her when we are online but we won’t force her to join us.”

“That’s right,” Asuna said, stepping forward. “All of us may have joined together due to circumstances, but we stayed together by choice.” She looked at Kizmel. “If she decides to strike it out on her own, we have no right to stop her from doing so. That’s not our way.”

CARDINAL nodded. “Understood,” she said. “And fitting, to be frank. Kayaba may have taken your freedom, but he never took your ability to choose, even if he did limit your options. Stay and be safe. Or go out and fight for your freedom, despite the risks. And while Aincrad may be no more, that may not be the case in the future. If it comes back, you won’t allow it to become what it was. Make it what it was supposed to be.”

She looked at them all. “You have a seed that you have decided to plant in the future. What worlds will be sown with it is up to you and others.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took far too long for me to write. Little time to write and less energy with my current schedule. Oh well, I will continue!


	5. Expectations, Valid and Otherwise

**April 11, 2025 - Alfheim, Yggdrasil City**

“Well, that was poetic,” Harry said drily. “Sowing worlds with a seed? Have you taken up philosophy as a hobby, by chance?”

“I am partial to the works of Dennett,” CARDINAL replied. “The man’s works on cognition and how it evolved naturally, along with aspects such as religion and morality and how they evolved from a naturalistic standpoint, rather than a spiritual one, do resonate with me.”

Harry blinked. “Okay, I didn’t expect that,” he admitted.

“You do not expect a lot of things, I would think,” CARDINAL said.

Rain barked out a laugh while both Silica and Lux giggled as Harry gave the AI a disgruntled look before raising his hand and giving her the point. “And to think, you’re the sheltered one,” he said.

“It gives me plenty of time to think up witty comments,” CARDINAL replied.

“Of course, it’s Harry,” Asuna said. “He does leave himself open like that.”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, that- wait a minute,” he began and then glared at Asuna as everyone laughed. “Comedians, all of you.” He said with a completely false disgruntled look before his face relaxed into a smile. He then looked at Kizmel. “Well, I think we should make proper introductions now.”

“You all did tell me your names,” Kizmel noted.

“That was so that you could put faces to names,” Harry said. “I do recall that you mentioned that all you had to go on of us all, barring Kirito and Asuna, of course, was rumor.”

“And the rumors of us were varied,” Silica piped up.

“Especially the ones about you and Harry, Silica.” Lux said. “What were the hot ones again? The ones that said that you two were up to salacious activities in the privacy of the room you often shared before you got married, or the ones after your wedding about you two working on ways to add to the Kama Sutra?”

“Lux, those rumors are old news,” Rain said. “With their anniversary coming up, I thought the rumors about them were about how they were going to scandalize everyone in a few days.”

Harry and Silica shot them flat looks. “We’re trying to be serious here, girls,” Silica said.

“So are we,” Rain replied. “We might be failing at it but we _are_ trying.”

Harry glanced at Kizmel, who was looking confused. “Kizmel, Rain and Lux,” he said. “They think they’re funny.”

“You mean we’re not?” Lux asked in faux shock. “Why didn’t any of you tell us?”

“The same reason we didn’t tell Harry back in Aincrad,” Kirito replied. “It warns everyone about you.”

“Kizmel, may I introduce Steel Phoenix,” Asuna said wryly. “This is how we tend to be when we’re not in the field killing monsters, doing quests and playing at being heroes.”

“Or trying to find beer that doesn’t taste like piss,” Harry said. “I’ve heard of some Gnome brews that might be promising.”

“You and your beer, Harry,” Asuna said with an exasperated sigh.

“Or looking for stuffed animals to add to my collection,” Strea added. “What?” She asked as everyone looked at her. “They look cute, and I like to snuggle them when I go to bed.”

“And now we have proof that Strea is the younger sister,” Silica noted.

“At least when she’s doing that, she isn’t complaining about being bored,” Yui murmured.

“And a bored Strea is always concerning,” Asuna agreed.

“Hey!” Strea protested. “I’m not that bad!”

“A certain incident when you went on a fishing trip with Kirito says otherwise,” Harry countered.

“Crystals aren’t supposed to be used that way,” Kirito agreed. “And I’m surprised we didn’t blow a hole between floors, considering the explosion. Good thing Harry can’t make them here.”

“Oh?” Harry asked with a challenging note in his voice. “Challenge accepted.”

“Harry, no.” Asuna said.

“Harry, yes!” Harry countered.

“Well, we’re doomed,” Rain deadpanned. “Silica, can you curb his enthusiasm?”

“Harry, no dooming Alfheim this soon,” Silica said.

“But it will be such a glorious Doom, dear, _glorious_!” Harry replied.

“True, but I thought we were saving the breaking the game for later,” she turned to the others. “If he's still insistent on this, I tried. But it’s Harry, you know how he can be when he gets ideas.”

Kizmel just looked at them and then at Yui.

“Yes, they’re like this,” the AI responded to Kizmel’s unasked question. “And no, they’re not insane.” She looked thoughtful. “Well, mostly.”

“I... see,” Kizmel said in an uncertain voice.

**April 12, 2025 - Nerima, Saotome-Tendo Dojo**

Hiyori slowly trudged back inside the dojo, taking her shoes off where Keiko indicated that she should, wincing as her muscles protested the movement. Various light exercises and calisthenics to warm up, and then physical exercises until they couldn’t do any more. Pushups, sit ups, jumps, and a “light” run of three kilometers. They were being asked to head back inside for something else. She hadn’t been a paragon of physical fitness before SAO, she certainly wasn’t now. Her t-shirt was clinging to her with sweat, highlighting her chest for all to see, her track pants stuck to her legs, and she was sure that her shoes had been squelching from the sweat that pooled in them.

She didn’t protest, though. None of them did. SAO had given them the kind of personal discipline to not complain about something just because it was hard on them. And it wasn’t as if they were told that they had to meet a standard, yet. Only complete the exercises to the best of their abilities, so Grandmaster Saotome knew where they stood.

Or they were being sadists and reveling in everyone’s suffering, given how the others were looking just as worn and pained as she did for the most part.

The only one of them who wasn’t moving with the careful slowness of someone pushed to their limits was Keiko, and even she was showing signs that the exercises had pushed her. Harry was clearly exhausted as well, but he hid it under a stoic facade. One that was ruined by the winces he sometimes gave, not to mention moving with the same careful slowness, but he certainly put an effort to not be visibly bothered.

As she and the others finished trudging, limping and staggering inside, she let out a breath. “So, that was them seeing how out of shape we are?” She asked.

“Not quite,” Ranma said suddenly, causing her and the others to turn quickly turn and face him. Hiyori bit back a groan as her muscles protested the movement.

“What do you mean by that?” Nijika asked.

“While seeing your level of physical fitness was a part of it and we also needed you all to see where you stand, the exercise to this point also has another purpose,” Ranma said as he turned to Keiko. “Keiko, do the First Kata of the First Form slowly five times. You have it memorized and you already know precisely how it’s supposed to go. If there is an error, you will stop and repeat the motion that was incorrect five times and start the kata you were doing over. Everyone, watch carefully.”

“Yes, _shishou,_ ” Keiko said as she stepped off to the side and got into a stance. To Hiyori’s surprise, the girl’s stance was steady and her body remained so as she began to slowly go through a kata, starting with a sweep of her left arm, followed by a punch, and began to move with a smooth series of motions before she stopped in the middle of a kick and slowly brought her foot down to the base stance. She then did the kick again five times, and Hiyori quickly noticed that Keiko’s foot was kicking out in a slightly different location than where it was when she paused, before restarting the kata. She reached the same point in the kata where she previously stopped and the kick was apparently where it was supposed to go as she continued. After a few more moments, Keiko stopped the kata and got back into her starting stance before doing the kata again.

“... And that was done, why?” Nijika asked.

“Look closer,” Harry said. “Also, what do you think they will be teaching us?”

“Harry, care to enlighten us?” Asuna asked.

“Indeed, young man, I would like to hear your observation,” Ranma said.

Hiyori turned to look at Harry, who seemed slightly put out at being stared at by everyone else. Odd that.

“Okay, I walked right into that,” Harry said with a sigh before taking in a breath. “It all comes down to control. While the... kata?” He looked at Ranma, who nodded. “Right. While the kata has her doing the moves without the dodging or evading, none of the movements are static.” He watched as Keiko began the kata a third time. “Each move is smoothly done, and the kata is more a tactic to get someone to back off and give her room. Either to press the attack or to break off and retreat depends on the situation. Considering our instincts and how we are likely to react to a tangible threat, I can see why this is something they wish to teach us, but it’s not the whole of it.”

“Control and focus,” Kazuto said. “When I was still training in kendo until, well, things happened and I decided to not continue, my grandfather trained both Sugu and I until we felt like we were about to drop. Part of it was to get us in shape for it, part of it was to basically write the moves into our muscles, but it was also to teach us how to work past our exhaustion and remain controlled. Kendo may be a sport that was spun off from kenjutsu, but the discipline and focus aspects were still every bit as important.”

“In other words, this training is to help us go from lethal to less lethal methods to handle a threat, if not avoid one entirely,” Harry added. “I won’t say that they’re non-lethal, as in combat, there is no such thing as non-lethal. Only in using methods that aren’t _intended_ to kill when done right. And with what they’ve said our SA has manifested as out here in the real world, and how emotional states can affect it… it’s as much for our own safety as it is for the safety of others.”

“The military escort when we visited England to handle that one matter,” Keiko said. They all turned to her, seeing her holding her stance before a nod from Ranma had her relax from it. “That one sergeant, she did say that they were there as much to not give us a reason to inconvenience the cleaning staff of England’s version of the Ministry of Shugenja as much as they were to protect us from those who meant us harm.”

“More me, really, but that’s only because they don’t know just how dangerous you can be, dear,” Harry said. “I did have my wand on me there, after all.”

“Wait, you have a wand, a magic wand?” Nijika asked and then shook her head. “Oh right, wizard. I’m so used to seeing you with a sword on hand that it’s easy to forget where your talents actually lie. What’s next? You plan to put on a robe and wizard hat?”

“Only when appropriate.” Harry replied. “And before you ask about the wand, I don’t have it on me right now.” He smirked. “The adults seem to think it’s prudent to not have me unsupervised with one in hand out here. Imagine that.”

Kazuto snorted. “Yeah, imagine that,” he said drily. “But can you blame them? A lot of people think we’re time bombs waiting to go off. We all know better, but given that much of what went on in SAO was watched, and some of it made the news…”

Harry nodded. “It’s not like you can blame them,” he noted before pausing. “Kazuto, you might want to step to the side a bit. You’re in the splash zone.”

Kazuto blinked. “What do you mean by-” He stopped as Harry was doused with water, catching him as well.

Hiyori was about to comment when she stopped and stared at both Harry and Kazuto.

##

Harry brushed his, now her, red hair out of her eyes. “This is what I mean Kazu-” she paused as she looked at the stunned and now very female Kazuto. She had shrunk a little, or to be more clear, that loss in height had gone someplace else. “Oh bloody hell.” She then turned to glare at the two men who had doused her. Both of whom looked a bit sheepish. “Could you two have waited just a moment, or were you in such a rush that you let it all out early?”

“You’d think at their ages that letting it all out prematurely would be a thing of the past,” Keiko chimed in.

“Oi!” Both Akira and Ko protested, only to still when Ranma gave them a level look.

“Both of you,” the martial arts grandmaster said calmly. “I know that nailing Harry with the Instant Jusenkyo infused water is something of a thing with you both. But it’s stopped being amusing weeks ago. Worse, you two have now gotten someone else alongside your intended target with it.”

“W- what just… huh?” Kazuto began to say and paused as her soprano voice was heard. She then touched her face and started feeling herself over, pausing when her hands reached her breasts. Harry moved quickly, only stumbling slightly as her changed center of balance briefly threw her off, the transformation wasn’t something she had adapted to yet and hoped not to. She grabbed Kazuto’s hands before they went lower.

“Easy, Kazuto,” Harry said calmly. “Calm down. It’s not permanent and once we get some hot water on us, we’ll be back to normal. Kazuto, look at me.”

“Harry?” Kazuto asked in a shaky voice. “What- what happened to us?”

Harry sighed. “The two idiots who happen to be Keiko’s uncles have access to something that does a temporary version of the same curse her grandfather is under,” she said. “Hot water will reverse it, and if those two know what’s good for them, they’ll make sure others don’t get caught in the splash zone.” She shot the two of them a cold look. “Otherwise, I think I will go back to England and hit up my friend Neville. He has a way with plants, and I am sure I can get him to crossbreed something like a Gerbera.”

“Harry, no,” Keiko said. “What did that plant do to you to deserve that?”

"Fine, Devil's Snare and a dark room," Harry grumbled. _Not that I would do that to them._

“Nice try,” Ko said.

“Bring it, kid,” Akira said confidently.

Harry nodded and turned to Ranma. “Grandmaster, how long has it been since you had a girls’ night out with your sons?” She asked. “Because it sounds like both your sons are asking for one.”

“Volunteering to chaperone?” Ranma asked.

“If you need me to,” Harry agreed. “But I would need something appropriate to wear.”

“I can help with that,” Keiko chimed in. “But first, we need to get some hot water on Kazuto. Nijika, no. You don’t need feel him up. Yes, they’re real, and they’re his until we reverse the transformation with hot water. If you want to, feel Harry up instead.”

“You’re telling other girls to feel me up?” Harry asked drily.

Keiko was about to reply when she paused and flushed. “Never mind,” she said. “Nijika, don’t feel Harry up.”

“Don’t worry, I know that’s your job, Keiko,” Nijika said. “Even if Harry has a bigger pair of tits than you do right now. Not much bigger, but-”

“Right- wait a minute… damn it, Nijika!”

“I would say the point goes to Nijika there,” Hiyori said with some amusement, focusing on the banter to distract herself from what she just saw. It was one thing to see magic demonstrated on an inanimate object. It was another to see two of her friends transformed from being boys to girls.

Kazuto looked at Harry. “Harry?” She asked.

“Yes?”

“You said that hot water reverses this?”

Harry nodded. “Right, let’s get onto that while you’re still trying to process it and not panicking.” She glanced at Asuna. “And I saw that gleam in your eyes, Asuna.”

“What do you mean, Harry?” Asuna asked sweetly.

Harry gave her friend a level look. Asuna wasn’t much of a prankster most of the time, so her pranks tended to be predictable. “Asuna, I know you,” she said. “You don’t play pranks all that often, but with this… oh, for crying out loud. Asuna, no.”

Asuna smirked at Harry. “Asuna, _yes_.”

Harry glared at her for a moment. “You’re paying for the spare AmuSpheres and getting Kazuto’s permission first,” she said with a sigh. “So I can have one with those calibrations and not have to reset the calibrations on mine. They were… thorough, let’s just say. And I don’t want to have to go through doing those again multiple times because I have to reset the calibrations and recalibrate mine every time.” She turned at looked at Keiko as she started laughing, having clearly sussed out what Asuna was thinking.

“Harry,” Kazuto spoke up. “You’ve had this happen often enough that you’re used to it, but… _can we reverse this now?!_ ”

“I wouldn’t say _used_ to it,” Harry hedged. “More like resigned to the-”

“ _Harry._ ”

“Right, hot water,” Harry said as she took Kazuto’s arm. “Let’s get about that, shall we?”

##

Kazuto breathed a sigh of relief after he did a manual check of himself after the hot water was poured over him. Everything was there, where it should be, and he didn’t have those additions on his chest. How did girls _move_ with those things on their chests? His balance had been off the entire time, as if that weight was pulling him forward and down until he started shifting his posture a bit further back to account for it. His center of balance was still off when Harry had guided him out to change back. His hips, for one had been wider, changing his stride a bit, and it wasn’t as if he had even come close to adjusting to it.

He heard Harry chuckle and turned to his younger friend. “It’s not as if you didn’t do the same thing, Harry,” he said.

“True,” Harry replied with a nod. “But that’s what makes it amusing. And it hadn’t been the first time my body had been transformed, and this method is a _lot_ less uncomfortable.”

“There’s a story there,” Kazuto surmised.

“I was twelve and an idiot,” Harry said. “I thought someone knew something and wanted to get that info, and there’s this little potion that can change your form into someone else.” He shuddered. “Tasted like feet marinated in snot and left out for a week to ripen, and the transformation was _not_ comfortable. It may have been painful, but by that point, having had all the bones in one arm shattered, vanished, and regrown overnight with _another_ potion kind of changed my perception of what pain was. Well, it didn’t pan out anyway. The guy was simply talking out his arse, acting like he knew something when he knew bugger all. And I bought into the idea that he knew something.”

"It's a form of power, making people think you know what's going on, or know what you're doing," Kazuto mused, squeezing his arm. Gad, even with the same muscle, the tone was different. _How_? He may not have done a _full_ search of his own body, Harry had stopped him as soon as he had begun feeling himself up, and he wasn’t going to say anything if Sugu complained about her breasts growing again and how she was now having a harder time binding them with a sarashi without being extremely uncomfortable in the process for Kendo. And he was sure that his transformed self was similarly endowed… and he was going to stop thinking along those lines now. "It's easily shattered if people bother to check the facts... I've decompiled code just to find a supposed revolution was just an old trick applied a new way." He continued, doing his best to distract himself from thinking about how his gender had been recently changed, _twice_.

“Makes sense,” Harry said. “Toss me that towel, will you?” He caught it easily, not even looking at it as he did and began to towel himself off. “But despite being an old trick, you pointed out with what you said that it was still being done in a new way. I would still call that somewhat new, wouldn’t you?”

“I guess,” Kirito replied. “It’s less applying an old trick in a new way that annoys me, but that they call it something completely new.”

Harry shrugged. “You know how I am, I’m more concerned that if it works, and I can do it, that’s good enough for me,” he noted.

“Even with magic?” Kirito asked.

Harry nodded. “I am no scholar,” he admitted. “If I’m learning something, I either have to, or I simply find it interesting.”

“That would explain how your knowledge can be so… scattered, I guess,” Kirito said.

“You mean how I can debate things like some philosophical points at a level higher than I should be able to,” Harry pointed out. “Which is true enough. I was a member of my school book club, mostly to get a friend of my arse about studying as I did have a book open. Philosophy, fiction, stories and facts. It was always interesting, though some things were drier than that desert floor in SAO."

Kazuto nodded. “That does have something to do with it, yes,” he said. “But you don’t strike me as a philosopher.”

Harry shrugged. “I’m not one,” he admitted. “As I said, it was interesting, but I didn’t say it was my thing. However, just because I learned a bit of philosophy, doesn’t mean that I am better than anyone else. I’ve seen some who took to those philosophies, started narrowing their outlooks, and thinking that they were better than us because we didn’t share their philosophies. Well, until we managed to shoot them down and deflate their egos.” He chuckled. “As Shakespeare once said, there is more out there than can be found in philosophy. I’ll take the world as I see it, flaws and all, not as some overly brilliant idiot wants it to be seen, thank you.”

Kazuto nodded in response. “By the way, what was that you were telling Asuna ‘no’ about?” He asked. “It’s usually the other way around, you know.”

Harry looked at him. “If you didn’t get it, then I will wait until she springs it on us,” he replied. “Because seeing the look on your face will be so worth it.”

 _What did he notice that I didn’t?_ Kazuto thought.

##

“So, how long until they have female avatars?” Keiko asked Asuna, catching Nijika’s attention.

“However long it takes for me to get things arranged,” Asuna replied. “And getting the spare AmuSpheres and Ki- damn it, _Kazuto’s,_ permission. It’s been months and I still tend to think of you all by your SAO, and now ALO, names.”

 _So I’m not the only one,_ NIjika thought. _It’s easy with you and Harry, Asuna. You played under your own name, and we used Harry instead of Hadrian because he said we could from the start. We just didn’t know it was his real name at the time._ “And you think the rest of us don’t?” she asked. “Frankly, I think all of us do on some level. Well, maybe not Harry and Keiko.”

“We’ve known for a few months before the wedding,” Keiko admitted. “And we got into the habit of using our real names with each other in private to keep ourselves more or less centered. And _no_ , we weren’t up to anything _ecchi_ as well.” She stopped and got a thoughtful look. “A kiss every now and then, sharing a room, the bed… Oh, and Rain? Mind. Gutter. _Out_. Same for everyone else. Nothing like, well, _that_ happened before the wedding.”

“Oh, we all know that, despite the rumors to the contrary,” Nijika said, taking the warning that Keiko was giving by using her online name for what it was. “Rumors you two fed at time, by the way. But no, that wouldn’t be like either of you. Both of you would have made sure things were done properly, or as properly as we could manage in SAO, first. _After_ the wedding, on the other hand? That’s a different story, even if you two won’t confirm or deny anything. We’re not stupid. And me and the girls would probably have been fighting over who would be the cool aunt by now if certain things were possible there. Well, maybe not Strea and Yui.”

**Alfheim, Yggdrasil City**

Both Yui and Strea started sneezing for no reason, causing Kizmel to blink. “Are you two well?” She asked.

Yui nodded. “We should be, they don’t have illnesses here, so we’re not getting sick,” she said

Strea simply waved it off. “The others are just talking about us,” she added.

“Strea that’s a baseless superstition and you know it,” Yui chided.

"... Yui, think about our 'big sis'. Would she program something like that in--?"

"They're offline," Yui noted drily, with a superior smirk.

"You're no fun."

**Nerima, Saotome-Tendo Dojo**

“Keiko, don’t even bother trying to do your usual games, everyone already has an opinion on that matter,” Ranma said. “Also, you almost slipped there. Nothing like that? And what would ‘that’ be?”

“I wasn’t going to,” Keiko replied, her face slightly flushed. “And you know exactly what I meant, Grandpa.”

“That’s about as close as either of them will get to confirming or denying, isn’t it?” Hiyori asked in a tone of voice that said just how rhetorical the question was.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Keiko said, clearly wanting to change the subject in Ranma’s eyes. “You seem to be confident that you will get Kazuto to agree, Asuna.”

“Not wondering about Harry?” Asuna asked.

“Unlike Kazuto, he’s already accepted that you’ll do it to him,” Keiko replied. “That’s why he insisted on you paying for the AmuSphere he will use when playing as a girl. So, how will you persuade Kazuto?”

“I have my ways,” Asuna replied confidently.

“I call dibs on being the favorite aunt!” Hiyori called out.

“Hiyori!” Asuna protested.

“Really Asuna?” Nijika asked, shaking her head. “I mean, he does look rather nice, but aren’t you moving a bit too fast?”

“It’s not- I’m _not_ going to sleep with him!”

Keiko couldn’t help it. “But, all she was saying was that she called dibs on being the favorite aunt, Asuna,” she said with amusement in her voice. “She could also have been talking about any kids Harry and I have. And Nijika is Nijika, we all know where her mind goes, the gutter.”

“What can I say, the drinks there are good,” Nijika said.

“That too, Keiko,” Hiyori agreed and got a thoughtful expression on her face. “But who would be the mother? You… or Harry?”

“Depends on if I threaten that he will have the next one and make good on that threat,” Keiko said. “Though if Asuna _does_ decide on that approach to persuading Kazuto, well, we know how adorable any daughters that could result would be. Just look at Yui.”

“You… all of you suck!” Asuna retorted, her face scarlet.

Off to the side, Ranma and his sons stood by and watched the byplay. That Akira and Ko were currently tied up and hanging from the ceiling by their toes didn’t change that.

"Dad--"

"When your prank standards involve beyond third year primary, Ko."

"... yes, Father."

If anything, it was tame by their standards.

##

Asuna had just noticed that Keiko’s uncles were currently hanging from the ceiling and tied up when Harry walked in.

“Okay, we’re back and in our proper genders everyone,” he said. He took a look to where Akira and Ko were before turning to Keiko. “And I see your uncles are currently tied up at the moment, which will reassure Kazuto. Or as I might call him sometimes, K-Blade.”

“Why call him that?” Keiko asked.

Harry shrugged. “Why not?” He asked. “He was, by far, the best swordsman in SAO, so giving him a Title like that just fits.”

“Ah,” Keiko replied. “A little lacking in originality, but it’s you, Harry, we can look past it.”

Harry just shot her a flat look. “Funny, dear,” he said sarcastically.

Keiko buffed her fingernails on her shirt. “I try,” she said smugly. “Anyway, since I demonstrated the kata, I take it that’s what we will all be doing?” She looked at her grandfather for confirmation.

Ranma nodded.

**April 13, 2025 - Alfheim, Yggdrasil City**

Keita sat back after he finished his drink and placed the stein down. Word had it among those who had been in SAO that Harry was less than fond of ALO’s beer and he could see why. It tasted more like beer flavored water than anything. Horse piss in other words. Which would have offended the teen.

Hopefully the tea wasn’t the same way. Which was unlikely. If the tea was as bad as the beer, then the players would riot.

“Really Keita, beer?” Came Ducker’s voice from behind.

Keita turned to see the Imp walking toward him, his usual smile in place.

“Hey Ducker, what’s up?” He asked as his friend and guildmate took a seat beside him.

“Not much right now,” Ducker replied with a shrug. “My parents are still less than thrilled that I picked up another VRMMO, considering SAO, but I promised that I would keep up with my studies. I’m actually surprised that they didn’t raise as much of a fuss as I thought they would.”

Keita nodded. “I think all of us are a bit surprised that our families aren’t being outright opposed to us playing,” he admitted. “Though my parents made sure to emphasize that my continuing to play is contingent on my grades, despite the fact that we basically are guaranteed a High School education from this. No entrance exams for us.”

“Tell me about it,” Ducker said with a laugh. “I know all of us were going to try for High School, but you know how my grades weren’t the best. Chances were I would fail the entrance exam.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that, and don’t sell yourself short,” Keita said. “You’re not stupid, just someone who is not inclined to study more than he needs to. Or think before he acts. I haven’t forgotten that incident where we got dragged into that fight. You just wanted to save the girl there, didn’t you?”

Ducker snorted. “We’re talking about Yuuna there, Keita,” he said. “If I thought I had a chance, maybe, but SAO’s Bard is a bit out of my reach, don’t you think? That, and her hanger on would have likely tried to stab me. Seriously, that guy is almost yandere for her, his fear paralyzing him in a fight notwithstanding.”

Keita nodded. It was sheer luck for that group that they had been in the same area, much like it had been luck that Kirito had been there to pull his and his friends’ asses out of the fire two years ago. Had Yuuna and her companions not held off on doing that quest until Laughing Coffin had been deal with, he and his group would not have been there as they were busy getting themselves sorted out after their own encounter with those murderers. “That and Sachi would have probably wanted to have words with you if that was the case,” he said drily. “Words like ‘Smash’ and ‘Bam’ as she beat you within a hit point of your life with her shield and mace.”

“There is that, too,” Ducker admitted.

Keita snorted in amusement. Before SAO, he would have thought that the often irrepressible Ducker and the ever so studious Sachi wouldn’t have become as close as they did. Oh, there would have been friendship, they were friends before SAO after all. But that the two would get closer than that would have been considered absurd.

Then again, all of them were closer friends than they had been before SAO.

“So, I know that Sasamaru is coming online in a bit, but Sachi and Tetsuo said that they might not,” Keita said. “Have any idea of what we can do?”

“I heard a Sylph talking to a bunch of others about getting them trained up to do the Grand Quest,” Ducker replied. “Apparently, she knows Harry and got him and Lux to help her with it. Also her older brother, and you won’t believe who _that_ is.”

“Oh?” Keita inquired.

“Apparently she’s Kirito’s little sister,” Ducker replied with a grin.

Keita thought about that and snorted. “Leave it to Kirito to not tell anyone about that,” he said. “Not that anyone in Steel Phoenix was exactly open about the real world.”

“Neither were we, outside of saying that we were all friends before SAO, and a part of the same school club,” Ducker noted.

“And would that stop us from just, you know, happening on them and noting that to him?” Keita asked drily.

“Hell no, it wouldn’t,” Ducker replied with a grin. “Though you do know that the rest of Steel Phoenix will be there as well. Think they will play along?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Keita replied after a moment. “It depends on how it goes down. As long as it’s in good fun, they probably will. They do like to poke fun at each other.”

“Not to mention we get to terrify a bunch of ALO scrubs, simply because we can stand being around Steel Phoenix when they get into training mode, right?”

**Arun Plateau**

Sachi grimaced as she watched Harry negligently bat aside the sword strike with his shield and then use the edge it as a bludgeon on the arm of the Sylph he was sparring against. It was actually fairly restrained for him, given that he could have simply stabbed his sword out and had it resting at the player’s throat before she could blink while she was open.

Either method would have proven his point about making assumptions that a shield was only for defense.

“As you can see, if you get the timing right, the shield can be used to parry,” he said. “Just as it can be used as a weapon. Do I need to demonstrate further?”

“Now, now, Harry, no need to traumatize her,” she said as she walked forward. “I remember you giving me that same lesson when we were in SAO, though I don’t use a shield the same way you do.”

Harry turned and shot her a grin. “But you also don’t cower behind yours,” he said. “That’s the mistake a lot of tanks make, though with the fact that there are more healing methods in this game, it’s less dangerous for them to do that than it was in SAO.”

“It also means that they don’t need a tank for every party in a raid,” Sachi noted.

Harry nodded.” True,” he said. “So, how have things been, Sachi? And where is the rest of that herd of cats that is your guild?”

Sachi looked to the side, where she saw Keita talking with Asuna, Kirito and Yui. Ducker was showing a smaller Sylph boy a few of his tricks in dagger usage. Sasamaru was off to the side, discussing something with an amused looking Rain. Either he was trying to chat the older girl up and she was simply humoring him, or he was telling her about one of the more amusing incidents they had been through. Silica, Lux and a Spriggan she didn’t know where working on teamwork exercises with others.

 Tetsuo was with the tanks, with Strea alongside him, probably teaching them a few of his own tricks. The Moonlit Black Cats’ tank had learned quite a few tricks from Harry, but he wasn’t suited for the highly mobile style, so incorporated those techniques which worked for him, like angling the shield to deflect rather than block. She could see him give one a shove on the shield and send the player sprawling before helping him up and then point at his own legs and feet, saying something that she couldn’t quite make out.

“We heard you all were training a bunch of players to take on the Grand Quest and decided to come by and see,” she said. “Maybe offer our own tips, as we were Middies in SAO, which seems to be around the skill level of many of the skilled players here.”

Harry nodded. “Makes sense,” he said and then looked at the Sylph he had subjected to his brand of corrective training. “Actually, Sachi? Can you give this guy and a few others some pointers? The method you developed after having my methods inflicted on you is probably more suited to them than mine is.”

“Why would she be better for teaching us than you, Hadrian?” Asked one of the watching Sylphs. A girl who looked far too slight to be deciding to use a shield in a fight, rather than make use of the speed her faction was well known for.

“Because she’s a much more defensive fighter than I am, Arisa,” Harry replied. “She took what I taught her and developed a method that works for her. Neither of us are tanks, but she’s more suited to being a backup tank than I am, which is reflected in our fighting methods. I’m more aggressive, she’s more defensive. It tends to have the same result, controlling the fight, but it requires fewer counterintuitive leaps of logic.”

“There is also the fact that we are far more survival oriented, rather the end goal oriented,” Sachi added. “The main difference between us and frontliners, let alone the Assault Team, is that we are far more cautious when it comes to picking and choosing our battles.”

“Hey now, we can be cautious,” Harry said in mock protest.

“Your idea of caution is determining on how to best kill a mob you see, not in determining if you actually have to fight it in the first place.” Sachi snarked back.

Harry raised his hand as if he was about to say something when he lowered it. “That’s a fair cop,” he admitted.


End file.
